I am dying in this house.
I am stifled by this hate.
Not mine,
I don't want it.
Please Dad,
don't put it on me.
I want to love,
I want to be open
to feeling,
to learning,
to growing.
I don't want this racism,
I don't want this prejudice.
Please Dad,
don't put it on me.
Teach me love
not hate.
Love the poor,
the black,
the Muslim,
the gay.
Love everyone,
isn't that what I'm supposed to be learning?
But it's not what you're teaching.
I grew up in hate,
your little girl
and that's all you taught her.
But I have strength in me
because I love anyways.
I love you,
with your racism,
your prejudice,
your blind, uneducated hate.
Even though the hate
makes my heart want to harden,
I love you.
But please Dad,
your hate will blind you,
maim you,
**** you.
Put it away, throw it out.
And if you have to keep it
please Dad,
don't put it on me.