Ode to Equality | Teen Ink

Ode to Equality

August 27, 2011
By Laura_Oliver GOLD, Manchester, Connecticut
Laura_Oliver GOLD, Manchester, Connecticut
12 articles 2 photos 122 comments

Why do you stare
Over here
At me?
Is there anything wrong
With my existence?
My differences?
Is it critical
To your life
That I must be
Catered precisely
To your needs
What is it of your concern
That needs to be watched
Carefully
From afar
With disgust
Every moment I intrude upon your holy
Presence?
I say,
Let go of that, my friend
Yes,
I am gay
I hail from a
Troubled background
And though my life is rich
I am penniless
The strong branches of my family
They carry sickness
Sickness I am likely to
Inherit
But with pride
My body was born
Attentive
Deficit
Hyperactive
Disordered
Though now
None of those things
They don’t matter anymore
And no, my friend
You won’t
‘Catch them’
You can touch me
Shake my hand
Offer a hug
Kiss my cheek
Be my friend
Without ‘catching’
My ‘ailments’
And why is it so desperate
Your need to condemn me
To ‘avoid’ me
To push me down
Into that abyss you never could have survived
Though I thrive in it
Where gravity is stronger
And rising up
Saps the strength
From you body
But perhaps
I am different from the few
That succumb to the call
Of drugs
Of pain-numbers
That end
In yet more pain
So really
Does it matter
Those things?
Do they shape me?
Or is it my character
That shapes me?
God
Is it even my shape
That shapes me?
No
Not at all
So I say, friend
Let go of those trivial things
Come beside me, I’ll tell you a tale
That you will scoff at
And say
“Possibly, that can’t be true,”
Because it will then be so far from the truth
That is my hope
I say, friend
Why does it matter
Who I appear to be?
The only items of consequence
That one can hold for themselves
Are the ones
That you cannot see
The ones that make me
Who I am
And I will not be judged
So if you wish to continue
Your ungodly practices
Leave this place
And let me have peace


The author's comments:
This poem speaks for itself this time around.

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This article has 4 comments.


Zxarra GOLD said...
on Dec. 22 2011 at 3:14 pm
Zxarra GOLD, Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire
14 articles 0 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
Earth without art is "eh"

I like that quote! Did you make it up yourself?

Zxarra GOLD said...
on Dec. 22 2011 at 3:13 pm
Zxarra GOLD, Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire
14 articles 0 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
Earth without art is "eh"

I like how you blatantly adress the thing that teachers and adults have been gently pushing on us for years. Good job!

on Nov. 10 2011 at 8:59 am
AmayaSakaruta, Borger, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
From out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, i thank whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul. -William Earnest Henley<br /> Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. -the Bible

this is great! a total underdog story a lot of people can relate to. reminds me a little of "One Hand in My Pocket" by Alanis Morisette. this is great :D

human6 GOLD said...
on Sep. 14 2011 at 6:16 am
human6 GOLD, Fasd, New Jersey
12 articles 0 photos 132 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you cannot convince a fascist aquaint his head with the pavement-trotsky<br /> The bourgeoisie might blast and ruin its own world before it leaves the stage of history. We carry a new world, here, in our hearts. That world is growing this minute.&ldquo; durry

good poem, i don't know my oppinion on ga.y rights but i know that as an anarchist i have no right to stop anyone, unless they hurt anyone else. 

 

bassically "your right to swing your fist stops at the tip of my nose, your right to punch yourself in the face stops when you miss and hit me."