Dreams and Dangers - A Poem Collection #3

Straitjacket

(Featured in The Storm Fades Part 3: Pink Clouds Behind Dark Skies and Through Their Eyes 2020)

I'm trapped by society.
They expect me to be one way,
I wanna be another.
They told me that as I'm a girl,
I need to follow the influencers,
Broadcast my life on the internet.
They told me that as I'm a boy,
I can't express my emotions, I can't cry.
I have to be strong, I have to be sporty.

Those ways have trapped me.
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.
As I'm lgbt, they told me I was inhuman,
As if being gay was the worst thing ever,
That I needed to be fixed.
As I'm smart, they told me I was boring,
That they were gonna go find someone less nerdy.

They've put me in a straitjacket of expectations and bullying,
And I can't get out,
Or so they thought.

It would take a long time,
Until I realised how to break out.
I had the key all along, I just didn't realise that I did.
All I needed to break out was self esteem, the realisation that they were wrong.
They were scarred souls looking for the next person to trap,
Just in an attempt to make themselves feel better,
When in truth they've poisoned the lives of thousands,
And are digging themselves further into their own straitjackets of hate and despair.

So, if you feel trapped,
By hatred, bullying, homophobia, xenophobia or discrimination,
Let me just tell you this.
Break out of your straitjacket.
You have the tools you need,
Because all you need to break out of their trap is self confidence.
I know it might seem impossible,
But just ask for help if you can't, stay strong,
Because soon you will be out,
And the straitjackets of society will entrap you no more.

'The hardest prison to escape is your mind.' Unknown