The Cavern – A Poem

Every time I was taught to be ashamed of myself,

I would put a little piece of my spirit

within the shadows of the cavern.

When I had to go to school and pretend to be someone

that I wasn’t so that I could fit in,

the stone walls would take another shard of my spirit.

Others I knew would mock people like me

when they saw us in public,

pointing at them with a lisp and a limp wrist,

as if we were deserving of their mockery.

In that way,

I was taught that being queer is not okay.

For too much of my life,

I would imagine myself covered in dirt and grime,

caking my skin like the rock walls

that kept my secrets,

so that I would go undetected.

Eventually,

no matter how much of myself I had hidden,

or how much I tried to be someone I was not,

my true self shone through,

beckoning me back to the shadows to reclaim

what I had given away.

When I went back to the cavern,

it was full of light because

I had finally returned to accept

who I always had been.