I'm outside,
For the first time,
I can run and run and run,
Wherever I want.

And be myself,
Just a teenaged girl,
Who runs and runs and runs,
Just for fun.

Though it's dark,
My heart is bright,
I run and run and run,
Filled with absolute joy.

I'm just a smiling girl,
Beaming and giggling,
At my shadow,
Cast by streetlights and stars

I am free.
Free to smile,
At whatever makes me smile,
Free to dance,
Whenever I want to dance,
Free to sing,
Wherever I want to sing,
Free to run,
However far I want,
Free to love,
Whoever warms my heart,
Free to be,
The person I am for no reason,
Other than that it is who I am,
That it is who I will always be,
And that it is the one thing I don't need to explain:
Me

Outside my window sits the,
Not so damning dark,
Calling to me softly,
And tells me how to start,
To find joy in simple moments,
And in every sight see art,
And hear within my forest,
The remembered song of a lark.

The cold wind bites me,
Reminds me I'm alive!
Not trapped or clinging on,
Not barely managing to survive,
Not near death or recovering,
No, I live and I thrive,
I don't swim in happiness,
I jump and leap and dive.

A soft laughter leaves my lips,
Echoes around the sleeping street,
And no one sees as I run,
With a girly prance in my feet,
That I know I have to hide,
If acquaintances I meet,
My one wish is that one day perhaps,
I won't have to be discreet.

My dream is to be me,
In the real world not just here,
I've been longing for long hair for so long,
But I know that I'll seem weird,
So I am content, for now, to be myself,
Only when alone, unseen.

Let's play a game!
Okay
Not again

We're soldiers in the army!
Cool!
Not again

Let's shoot those bad men!
Yeah!
This isn't fun

Oh no! You're wounded! I'll help you!
Thanks so much, friend!
Friend, really?

There you go, you can rest on my bed
I need it, thanks.
Here we go again

Oh no! Someone's taken your bed now! I guess we'll have to sleep together tonight
Doesn't sound too bad
Yeah...sure it will

The rules say we have to sleep without clothes, oh well.
Ah well, we're both guys, it'll be fine.
Since when has that rule existed?

Oh it's so cold! Can I sleep closer to you?
I'll keep you warm
No you won't! Get up and go home!

My lips are cold
No
No

Too late, I win again

The fresh, crisp air fills my lungs,
As I lie back beneath the shaded moonlight,
My view obscured by the outlines of leaves,
I lie there,
By myself,
Alone but more importantly,
Myself,
I lie there in a simple white dress,
Though darkened by the night,
My ebony hair still a few shades blacker,
I lie and sing softly to myself,
As the stars dance in my eyes,
And I plead with them to hear me,
Despite the distance,
I lie there beneath a clear night sky,
hearing muffled suggestions of reality but,
Ignoring them in favour of peace.
I lie back,
And smile softly,
Content with my own company.

The sun shines through,
Radiance fills the hall,
Like the music which flows,
Through my restless body,
I can't help but skip,
And beam at the world,
And sing along with all my heart,
To the song of freedom,
That engulfs me utterly,
And breaks down my pointless walls,
Of fear of judgement,
Leaving me to let everything out,
As best I can,
And just be happy,
Ignore the staring eyes,
And *dance

Minor chords,
Used to play on my heartstrings,
And clog up my throat,
With tales of fake truths,
And the firm-standing webs of no way out.

Dissonant thoughts,
Used to confuse my brain,
And split it in two,
Because it was made brittle,
By the "right" and "wrong" etched before understood.

Until I found that with the same strings,
And the same voice,
I could find truth.

I will never forget,
The one who helped me escape,
The one who persuaded me out,
The one who showed me the world,
The one who became my first friend,
The one who accepted everything about me,
The one who showed me that I can be whoever I want to be,
The one who convinced me to let my heart out,
The one who gave me my first hug,
The one who laughed with me,
The one who never judged,
The one who never will,
The one who smiled at my joy,
The one who gave me a name that does not lie:
My name is May.
And I was named by my best friend.

Her eyes hold my stare,
For a moment or two,
And for another few moments,
All I think of is you.

Her smile fills my word,
And lights the shadows of my mind,
And lightens the weight,
I carry for being kind.

Her laughter is my high,
Anaesthetic, suspends belief,
Drowns out the crying voices,
In my head and gives relief

Her presence is enough