we've been told 

our whole lives 

who we are 

our identity

carved into our skin

and hidden underneath our dresses

represented only by the length of our hair

and our elegance 

broken only by the people screaming

"queer" at us in the hallways 

whispers in the classrooms

soft chuckles from the boys

in the back

the first thing he saw 

when he entered the world

was a bright pink balloon 

with the words

It's A Girl

when it should've said

You Decide

why do we have to assign

fates to those with the will

to make their own destiny

she was 14 

when her mother asked 

if she had a boyfriend yet

and she stared at he ground and said 

"actually.."

her girlfriend still visits her grave 

we are always saying its okay

to be yourself

but we forget to add 

the slight disclaimer 

saying its only okay

if you are the self you were taught to be

because god knows being free

comes with a world of side notes

we are tying 

their nooses

and crying

at their funerals 

saying oh what a shame 

she was so beautiful

because all anyone is trying to do here

is be themselves

and we have got these children

trapped in their own minds

and in bodies far from their own

and in closets they are scared to escape

because the whole world is standing outside of them

screaming that they do not belong here

nor anywhere else

other than 6 feet under

and they have nothing else to believe but that it's true

because every attempt to reach out

is brushed off as a phase 

they are killing themselves

because they are not the same

who are we 

to decide their fates