Myself as Two

I am

happy, not accepted, but happy

scared, accepted for now, but scared

Life is

hard, but right, I am myself

easy, but not right, I am not myself

The world is

harsh, but life is comfortable, I am myself

a breeze, but life is not comfortable, I am not myself

My family

rejects me, cause the world is cruel, but life is good, I am myself

would never forgive me, the world only accepts the familiar, life is unfair, when I am not myself

Gay rights is something I feel strongly about, because I think as people with feelings we have the right to marry and love whoever we choose, therefore I chose to write a poem over that topic, but I tried to do so in a subtle way. Therefore, for this two voice poem I started with my two characters, where I decided one would be out of the closet and one would be in the closet. I wanted the characters to have the same "issue" while their lives contrasted each other greatly. I also wanted to start with how they felt about themselves, and then each stanza having them branch out to others and ending with family because that is something most people feel most strongly about.

While doing this I also wanted each line holding on to the previous stanza, showing how no matter what others thought they would be the ones either content with the way they are or not. In the life of the first person, her only positive stanza was the first one about herself where she is happy. In the rest life is hard the world is harsh and her family rejects her, but she is happy. In the life of the second person, and life is easy the world is a breeze, but she is scared, and in the last line everything is wrong, because she is not herself. Although it is not implied in the poem I did try to imply it in the title, I wrote the poem thinking it as one person, and what her life would be like if she came out to the world vs. if she didn't.