I need a place

A safe place

A silent place

A peaceful place

 

A building where I can march up to a urinal and piss like nobody's watching

Because nobody is watching

No one is waiting for you to finish

So they can go without worrying about you sneaking a peak

What those boys don’t realize

Is that if you’re worried about me sneaking a peak

I probably don’t want one

 

I want the same feeling of euphoria

That I get walking onto a stage

As I strut my stuff down the hall

Grasping firmly to my boyfriend's hand

Because when I am on stage

And this light is one me

I am unbreakable

I am swimming in euphoria

All heads up, eyes wide, staring in awe

But as I fight blindly though the swarm of students in the hall

The spotlight that burns my flesh is that of:

Ridicule, hate, disgust, abhor, rejection, and

Ignorance… ignorance.

 

Some people say ignorance is bliss

Me? Well…

I say ignorance is Satan himself

I’ve been told time after time,

“Don’t take it to heart. They just don’t understand.

You can’t blame them for their ignorance.”

And I believed it

I told myself the same things I did back as a freshman

When I was still chillin in the closet

They just don’t know

The don’t understand

The don’t get it

The are ignorant

   

Apparently in today’s society “ignorance” means:

Homophobic, conservative, corn fed, truck-circling hicks

And apparently I missed the memo

Because I was taught to treat others the way I wanted to be treated

To not cut in line

To not talk back

To not judge others

But in this world

As we fall deeper into this state of societal ignorance

Society is missing the memo

 

We live in a world where every discovery ever made can be searched, tracked down, and expanded upon

With a piece of metal that fits in our pocket

We live in a world where that same piece of metal

Can just as easily be whipped out of our pockets

Snap a picture and three buttons later

The whole school is informed once again

That I am gay

But tell me one thing

 

Tell me why society needs to be reinformed

Why do people feel the need

To take that elephant in the room

And put him up on stage

For everyone to just stare at

Tell me why society is so stupid

They need someone to remind them that I’m gay

Everytime I walk down the hall

Society is no longer ignorant to the way I feel

So how can they still use this as an excuse?

 

Ignorance is no longer an excuse

There is no excuse

There is no excuse for making me wish society was ignorant

Ignorant meaning “not being informed”

So. Yes.

I wish society was ignorant

I wish society was ignorant to the idea

That my love for my man is wrong

Because trust me sweetie

If you think my love is wrong

Than you haven’t a clue what love is

The love that we share is

Two rivers flowing side by side in perfect harmony

It is an impossible balance of hugs, kisses, tears, fights

It is the same balance of the sun and moon rising and falling together

It is the push and pull of yin and yang

It is the late night phone calls

The rides to work

The random surprises

The longing for his gorgeous smile and giddy personality

How can we be wrong?

 

If we are supposed to treat others the way we want to be treated

Then I guess I should start pretending that I care for football

Because in the same way I know nothing about why the hell it’s okay

For someone wearing a helmet and labeled QB

To grab his boy … friend’s ass

You know nothing about how my boyfriend makes me feel

 

It is no longer ignorance

It is no longer okay

In a perfect world, heterosexual and homsexual couples live on one earth, together

In a perfect world, words like, “dike, faggot, lesbo, and queer” wouldn’t even exist

In a perfect world, the shield of ignorance would be seen right through

Now… I hate to be the one to inform you of this, but…

We don’t live in a perfect world

But that doesn’t mean we can’t all be happy

 

Dear Gay Couple,

It’s okay. You’re not alone. I promise

The problem is, you’re scared

Scared someone will say something

Someone will post another picture

But in the end, who cares?

If something is said, smile and compliment the speaker

If something is posted, retweet, favorite, and like that shit up

 

Dear football players,

YES. My boyfriend and I are checking y’all out as we walk by practice after rehearsal

But we all know you are not upset that the school policy on leggings has changed

So why don’t we all just get over ourselves?

Give up the false ignorances and move on.