How messed up is it that we live in a world 

Where blue is for boys and pink is for girls

 

Where it’s better for men to have a gun than a doll

Where it’s better for someone to hurt themselves

Than to be any different at all. 

 

Children are supposed to be scared of the  the clowns they think are lurking in the streets, 

And of the neighbour’s angry dog they think will bite them for a treat

 

Of the shadows in the night, the spooky stories told in the shade

Not how angry you’ll be when they bring home a bad grade

 

You used to protect them from the monster under the bed

You’d tell them “I love you, goodnight,” And kiss their head. 

 

But now

 That monster under the bed 

is protecting them from you

And don’t you dare tell me that that isn’t the truth

 

Don’t you dare call these lies

Don’t you dare say I’m fine 

Because in this messed up society you think it’s better for him to die 

Than to be happy with his lover because that lover 

is also 

a guy

 

You tell her she can’t be depressed because she’s too young

You laugh and say she’s making it all up for fun

 But being 12 years isn’t stopping her from holding that knife to her throat

It’s not stopping her from thinking that there’s only one antidote. 

 

So Instead of spending your time trying to prove that they’re lying 

Can you, please, just take one second, to make sure they’re not dying? 

 

Do you want to know why suddenly your daughter stops saying “I’m your son.”?

Why at 16 he quits saying he’ll never romantically love anyone? 

 

Because you can only try to get someone to listen so many times. 

So instead he’ll turn to crying, to drugs, turn to crimes

He won’t come to you for help, because you always ignored his signs 

He’ll just desperately wait for the day you can no longer keep him confined. 

 

If you’re one of them reading this, I want you to know: 

It’s okay to not be okay 

We just gotta keep going, living day by day

 

We can’t give up, our lives are priceless

We’re all in this together; we can fight this

 

Because even when we’re hurting, 

Even when our souls are all cracked,

We should never be ashamed of who we are

And THAT is the only fact.