My eyes have been wide open
Since as long as I can remember.
"Love" was a word, an action, an emotion
That was second nature to me.

 

I love my family, my friends,
Those that accept me
For who I am,
For what I do,
For how I think,
And for who I love.

 

I never thought it strange,
To see two men kiss each other,
With their lips,
To hold each other,
Like my parents did.
I didn't feel shocked or appalled,
When two women did the same.

 

Those actions they did,
Spoke volumes over words.
Drowned out the negative
With shouts of 
Love, Affection, Caring.

 

My parents never told me
That there was a specific equation for love.
They never taught me to hate someone
Because they were male and chose to
Call another man "beloved",
Instead of a woman.

 

My eyes have been wide open,
And my mind never stops
Taking in everything.

 

When it comes to love,
I don't see color.
My own family is like a canvas,
Painted in shades and hues
That make a masterpiece.
So it's no factor in who
I choose to keep close to me,
As friends or something More.

 

When it comes to love,
I don't see gender.
I see the way someone looks at me,
With that emotion that wants to burst from their chest.
I feel the heat stirring in my body,
That want and need that spills forth,
Threatening to overcome me,
And burn everything.

 

And I hope it does.
That heat, that love, that undying
Inferno surging from my very being...
I hope it burns down walls,
Sets fortresses ablaze,
Tears down barriers,
And scortches those blindfolds 
People have shoved down over their eyes.

 

I want to hear about more
Families of Choice.
To hear about couples
Who have taken lost children under their wings,
Who have chosen to become parents,
One of the most challenging and daunting
Occupations a person can have,
To raise a tiny life into
Someone amazing.

 

I want to hear about
Families that Accept,
That smile and hold their arms open
When the children of their blood
Come to them and Say:
"I'm scared that you'll reject me,
But Mom, Dad, I'm different.
It doesn't change who I am,
It doesn't mean I'm not your kid,
But I'm Gay,
I'm Bisexual,
I'm Trans*
I'm something Different that people seem to think
Is cause to be afraid.
But I'm okay, I just want to know,
That you still love me for everything that I am."
And I want that family to hug them close,
To whisper "We love you."
 

If we can accept
A brother loving their sister,
A parent loving their child,
A friend loving their friend,
And every other type of Love there is,
Then we should be able
To comprehend 
A man and man,
A woman and woman.
To accept
A boy growing up to realize he prefers skirts and lipstick,
Or a girl realizing she doesn't feel right
With breasts on her chest,
And that she wants a body so opposite from her own.
And that people who experience similar trials,
Can and should love whoever they want,
Without restriction.

 

In the United States Constitution,
We are granted certain unalienable rights,
And among those are the right to
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
As human beings,
We are granted the ultimate right to find our Happiness,
And if that means it
Can be found in the arms of our loved ones,
Whoever they may be,
Then no one in the world,
Has the right to stop us.