“Don’t tolerate me as different. Accept me as part of the spectrum of normalcy.”
- Ann Northrop
“Don’t tolerate me as different. Accept me as part of the spectrum of normalcy.”
- Ann Northrop
“Freedom of Expression,”
A right said to be inherent
in all
But is it really?
That inherent right,
Isn’t it often curtailed
By the social constructions of gender?
Am I so wrong for feeling
suffocated
For not being able to be
who I am?
The pain pulsing in my heart,
Waiting to spew out
To dirty that “society”
with its
Ugly and slimy arms
Is it really dirty?
Is it that ugly?
To be who I am
To love who I want
To wear what I want
To walk my way
The way my legs & hips
take me
Is it really that ugly?
“Freedom of Expression,”
A right often said to
be inherent
But is it really?
That inherent right,
When am I to feel it
Removing those chains,
Shoving my words back in
my throat.
Those words brimming and
brimming,
Waiting to overflow
And let everyone know my
“ugly” secret,
Is trembling like a thin
leaf
As if it’s ready to fall
off
And leave the way it came
from,
Silently…
Silence, dark as it is,
Surrounds me.
Loud as it is,
Makes me lonely,
Begging for some warmth,
Waking that pulsating pain,
Showering me in salty, salty
tears,
Silently…
In the name of “Freedom
of Expression.”
Expression…Isn’t it to be
colourful and vibrant
So vibrant that it looks
Ugly but runs deep and beautiful,
Coming in different shapes
and sizes
To embrace all and all
Even in those salty, salty
tears,
Sharing vulnerabilities
And calling for inclusion
in its warmth?
That “Freedom of
Expression,”
Inherent in all,
Is it equal for “all”?
Is chains for some and freedom
for others
What equality means?
What “Freedom of
Expression” means?