I was the five-year-old
who got called names,
was pushed around,
and was physically beaten,
just because he looked slightly different

I was the ten-year-old
who grabbed his father's phone
because he wanted to play Tetris,
but instead, stumbled upon romantic messages
coming from a phone number that wasn't his mother's

I am the sixteen-year-old*
who fell hopelessly in love,
then got his heart broken by the girl
he thought was beautiful and perfect in every way;
the girl who promised him *“forever”

I want to be the seventy-year-old
who’ll enjoy sunsets from his porch,
swaying back and forth in his rocking chair
and hold hands with the woman
he’ll think is beautiful and perfect in every way;
the woman who promised him *“forever”