Category: Poetry

Which freedom trumps?

Good news

bad news

steps forward

and steps back

Her scars were burned deep

when she was young

and she was told

they were her fault

They have said

we are confused

about our gender

making up stories

for illicit purposes

This place

is not of our creation

or it would be

more loving

more accepting

more open

to difference

We are people

somewhat like you

but different

deserving of equality

no more

but no less

Walls erected

to keep us apart

to give you

the illusion

that we are

undeserving

of equality

must one day

crumble

rotting on the inside

from the substandard

materials used

to erect them

the unholy thoughts

you believe

your morality

suggests

which anyone

sane

should be able

to see

only to reinforce

your supposed

superiority

I watch you

as you grow

learn some things

take baby steps

forward

hoping for more

ever willing

to teach you

how to make it so

‘Tis a long road

from there to here

from despair to hope

from despondency

to expectation

We can only

truly know freedom

if we are aware

of the ways

we are in bondage

bound by a culture

which rigidly demands

our strict adherence

to fixed states

unchangeable

unchallengeable

under penalty

of expulsion

or worse

and still manage

to reject

those chains

men

women

maybe both

sometimes neither

our choice

or at least

it should be

Spreading truth

in the face

of ignorance

we return to the cave

after experiencing

the beauty and wonder

of a better place

a more just world

a brighter future