Stand in your colour

Gathered here today

we all swarm the streets like honeybees

standing in our purpose

valorous in our self created images

we are most unabashed in

but to the world a categorical threat

as if they deem you inadequate for what a human should be

as if they are God, to judge thee

as if you need to prove you are worthy for being different

or for questioning their ideologies and rules

we all fight for power

even when our voices go unheard

even when they strip us of our freedom of choice

we fight until we are heard

because when the lights dim low

and the drums cease to pervade the air

our voices still echo past the restless confetti

and we revert back to accepting the unchanged

putting on a facade of lies

dressing like the script says you should

being a child your parents said you must be

because you know they will disown you

if you dare taint the family name

or society awaits to judge you unapologetically

and why risk your life being who you want to be

when it is much easier being who you are not.

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But some are not ready to dream

and so they become things not befitting of them

bleaching skins, removing the shimmer in their glow

finding those acid washed friends

empty lovers who never fill your space

eventually making you settle for less than you deserve

is it that you allow everyone

to now steal the colour of your voice

you are a people pleaser

amongst the grim reapers

look at the footprints they left

these oil stains have covered you

and fragments of you remain stolen

even after they are long gone

as you ponder why you never feel whole

they always leave your chalice less empty

than what you poured for them

with that mediocre coffee

and that tepid love

so you seek water from the seven seas

the only thing that brings you back to you

the wine seeping from your lips

eventually dry

and reality trickles down your throat

slowly with the insecurities that leave a bitter taste

as you fail to stand in your truth.

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How long must we fight

before we ourselves lose momentum

and question why we still paint the streets

only in these outspoken settings do we feel most liberated

surrounded by these nonjudgemental strangers

where we somehow never feel unseen or forgotten

I am still a person

yet equality looks different for me

my sexual orientation

my race

my gender

my religion

does not define me

does not make me subordinate to you

nor does it alter your life

so our voices are never neutral

our colours are always loud

and our footsteps you will hear from light years away

we are forced to shine so bright

that they cannot just deny our existence

too long we have lived behind wild flowers

yet they wonder where our scent emanates from

but if we do not stand for something

then we are already repeating history

allowing society to control our voices constitutionally

so no, they don't get to have our freedom of rights too.