Coming Out

Where there are reds and greens,
I see only black and grey.
Where others breath in pure air,
I choke upon the smog.
Where they rejoice upon free open spaces,
I see no where to hide.
For I am not of their tenet.

Troubled and labelled, poor, misguided, misled
am I.
Am I?
Tattooed on my forehead.
Is it?

A scarecrow amongst the ravens and carrion seekers,
Afraid for they cannot understand this apparition.
The law of the mob conquers even the strongest,
And I am doomed.
Pecking out my eyes, clutching at straws!
A shambles of a life.

Tormented if I stand.
Ridiculed when I lie.
The bogey-man
Friends shake their heads,
Women state what a shame.

And I stand in the loneliest of places
Wide open spaces
No one to cross over to my side,
To give me shade, respite from the heat.
From the beatings.

He rides fast and furious across no man’s land to my side.
My salvation?
Until I see the breed of steed he’s on
His high horse,
Spouting hell and damnation.

Where there are reds and greens
I see only black and grey.
Where they see righteousness,
I see bigotry for being gay.