Scared
feeling each response
before they're even said
Reactions in my mind
the feelings just as real

I wasn't sure
why have I been unsure?
when there's a prevalence
representing
But there's backlash,
true feelings of my culture?

People are killed, jailed,
sent away, spat at
People are cut off,
unloved, hated

Many don't understand
the value of the reveal
It's not to brag, or to force, or prod
Rather,
to get support, to accept oneself,
to cope,
to express freely
just as everone else can

I've come to learn,
it's not my doing,
it's not my fault
I come into the world
as I am
from my past
from my genetics

Not all of my past
holds all weight
to who I am
I'm not "wrong"
because of it -
I know that now

I can't change
who I am
or pretend
I won't try to anymore,
the methods -
they're ineffective,
detrimental, aweful
and miss the point -
there's nothing wrong
with me

Disorders,
to be called so,
must affect,
significantly,
daily life activities,
some or all
I live my life
without direct affect
from who I am personally

It's taken me
many years
to realize, to admit,
to accept that...

I'm gay.