I will, forever,

Leave my mark.

I will not be silenced by your rigidity.

I will not be made to feel less,

Because your view differs from my own.

I will stand proudly,

In admiration of who I am becoming.

I will not be erased.

I will no longer be chained,

By guilt that you told me to carry.

I will no longer suffer,

Because of who I once was.

I will no longer,

Live in fear of opinion.

Instead I will be brave,

A force to be reckoned with.

I will not be erased.

I am not perfect,

Made millions of mistakes.

They do not define me,

I am not them.

I am resilient,

I am a warrior.

I will not be erased.

I have carried the weight of loss,

Guilt, sadness, brokenness.

Yet, still I remain.

I will not be erased.

If I weren’t here to speak my truth,

Would it be easier for you?

Easier to live,

As if your views are the only ones that count?

Easier to prove,

Your reality is the only truth?

Easier to silence,

Your own souls attempt to awaken you,

From unconscious slumber?

I am not here to make things easier.

I am here,

To live my truth.

I will, forever, leave my mark.

I will not be erased.