I walked the lonely path

of what it meant to be different .

Too afraid to speak out

terrified of who I was inside.

No...not of who I was,

but of who society thought me to be.

A man should love a woman

not another man.

These words are reflected in every gaze

in every lingering moment.

But at some point

one must cast away these ideas.

For they are foolish and only

breed hatred.

A man can love a man,

a woman can can love a woman,

and either can love both.

That is the simplicity of love.

Our differences make us who we are.

Without them we would be nothing,

and I refuse to be nothing.

I am proud of the person that I have

discovered.