I look in the mirror
To see a young boy
Masquerading
Typecasted into roles with
Skin-crawling costume design
Constricting and waist-binding
The seams searing the skin
Molded to meet the suffocating criteria
There is sorrow deep in his eyes
Knowing he has deceived and deluded
And performed this scene for far too long
Acting restlessly in a futile effort to belong
But he was never meant for this role
The blinding stagelights and heavy curtain
Even if he will miss the roses and applause
He wants nothing more than freedom.

Look at me,
Look at my smile that dances in the natural light.

why must the world be a battle field?

why are the loving hands of black men and women considered weapons?

why are members of the lgbt community considered evil?

why are non religious people seen as a spawn of the devil?

why must we live in a world where life is a battlefield?

why must we fight to believe in our own dreams?

why must we fight for the rights gifted to us as humans beings?

everyday we put up a fight,

and frankly i’m tired of this battlefield.