Survival

They told me "You are wrong!"
They told me "You're not valid!"

I didn't choose this

They told me "You're an abomination!"
They told me "You're a sin!"

Can I just be?

They told me "You don't belong!"

They ground me down

"Get out of our lives!"

They spat me out

"You're still an abomination!"

They..
erased..
my..
me..

Nothing left.

My am, a daily fight for thrival,
Just beyond the point of survival.
Self validation, so hard, so wrong,
Nothing there to start it from.

It's hard to boot the imposter of self.
Is this my voice or someone else?
I'm poorly equipped to do it myself,
Some days I just need the help.

I dare not ask,
I don't deserve.
There is no healing.
Stark.

Ten thousand days it has been
Each morning thankful, I begin
Another new day, I've been given
Another day not to give in

Each day I remember Ashley
We shared the torture together
They took their life where I had failed
I remember Ashley

It's a survival

Of sorts.

First published at https://www.legalinfo.org/conversion-therapy/guide