Respect ME, Not Me.

I am gay

And it doesn’t

matter.

I like girls

And sometimes

They like me back.

It doesn’t define me

And it doesn’t consume

My life.

I am gay

And it’s okay.

My sexuality doesn’t

Make me a better

-or worse-

Person.

It just makes me,

Human.

And it doesn’t

Mean that I have

Struggled.

Right now,

There is a family huddled

Under a blanket

In the cold wind,

Alone in this world.

They have struggled.

They have been through it.

Right now,

There is a poor child

Being influenced

By the power of nasty men.

He has struggled.

Right now,

There is a single mother

Working three jobs,

Just to feed her children.

She has struggled,

And she has earned your respect.

Being gay is not

A free pass for your pity.

Let me earn your admiration.

Let me ‘wow’ you.

Don’t let my sexuality

Define your opinion of me.

And don’t forget about the people

Who have truly struggled

In this life

Of misplaced attention.