Stand Up

Born unto this world, You and I were made to be

Born unto this world, You and I were blessed with dignity

Born unto this world, You and I were instilled with integrity

Born unto this world, You and I, like all others, were meant to be free

Freedom, the taste of not being held back

Freedom, the feeling of complete control, even when against you the deck is stacked

Freedom, the ability to remain in control and not react

Freedom, the power to display self-assuredness in yourself, which others lack

Freedom, the full knowledge of accepting responsibility

Freedom, the ability to attain inner tranquility

Freedom, the discipline when disgraced to treat others with gentility

Freedom, the power when burdened to move with unabated agility

Even when we were young there were persecutors that preyed on our fears

Even when we were young those persecutors were our peers

Even when we were young they would push us past the brink of tears

Even when we were young their insecurities were projected on us over the years

For they were those to restrict us physically

For they were those that would restrict us mentally

For they were those whom would box us in verbally

For they were those who would desire to get underneath our skin, perturbingly

Knowing that they use their language to demean

Knowing that their use of forbidden words was more than obscene

Knowing that their inner dark side grew with jealousy of an emerald green

Knowing that they couldn’t be kind to themselves, so to us they acted mean

For they were those that would try to put us in pigeon holes

For they were those that could never make themselves feel whole

For they were those who wished to harm us with words and apply a straining mental toll

For they were those who would try to strip us of our inherent dignity that resides in our souls

For they wanted to live rent free in our heads like a parasite to a host

For they would twist and manipulate their words at whim, always moving the goal post

For they flaunted about their superiority and about how they were favored the most

For they would entice us to anger as their jeers turned to grins while being overly verbose

For they are not free, hear me speak

For they are not free, we may be meek but they are weak

For they are not free, as they are only happy when demeaning, that’s their only peak

For they are not free, they search for happiness in misery, that’s all they can seek

Disgusted I am, For you had your chance at being friends

Disgusted I am, For you played the false victim, a game of pretend

Disgusted I am, For I am putting your destructive ways, upon us, to an end

Disgusted I am, For I am molting after having come to learn that I am not the words you clothe me in

I have stood up to you, and I will do so again

I have stood up to you, and I will not trespass against you and your kin

I have stood up to you, and I will not allow you to burrow beneath our skin

I have stood up to you, and I will no longer entertain your malevolent grin

Even into our elder years after us you will pursue

Even into our professional careers there’s a hell you wish to drag us through

Even into our generations to come your trouble you wish to strew

Even into our various lives, with you we decide to be done with through-and-through

Stand Up! We will to your rejection

Stand Up! We will, for you do not own the standards to perfection

Stand Up! We will, for you will no longer put us in dejection

Stand Up! We will, for we shall view ourselves wondrous in our own perception

As I stand up, I take back the freedom I have given

As I stand up, I take a view of this world that we live in

As I stand up, I take a hold of all the insecurities that we’ve hidden

As I stand up, I take a step forward, as moving past you is past me, since I’ve forgiven

No more will we tolerate your behavior

No more will we ever search for your favor

No more will we bow to you as if you’re our slaver

No more will we neglect ourselves, as living for ourselves is our life saver

Standing up we move on and push forwards

Standing up we make haste the future we move towards

Standing up we humble ourselves with honest modesty to be more straightforward

Standing up we take rule over our own lives, over our own kingdoms, ruling as benign overlords

It doesn’t matter about whether we’re old or young

It doesn’t matter about whether our songs have been hummed or sung

It doesn’t matter about whether we’re the people you want us to become

It matters that we’ve initiated our path of exploration, a path without you is what we’ve begun

I extend my hand outward, and tell you to move on from me

I extend my hand outward, and tell you that you’re someone I’ll never be

I extend my hand outward, and tell you that I don’t need you, as I was born to be free

I extend my hand outward, and tell you that I don’t need a bug, like a host doesn’t need a flea

Now you must understand, that free is what you are

Now you must understand, that you will no longer trespass our boundaries and go too far

Now you must understand, that you don’t need me to make yourself feel like a superstar

Now you must understand, that the power to build yourself up is when you begin to heal your own scars

As I begin, as we begin, to stand up and walk away from you

As I begin, as we begin, you also learn what you must also do

As I begin, as we begin, to be more compassionate and walk a mile in one another’s shoes

As I begin, as we begin, to learn that we can always begin anew

Please heed my word, as I rejoice

Please heed my word, and learn to find your own voice

Please heed my word, as you begin to tune out others who only give you disruptive noise

Please heed my word, and learn to exercise your power of choice

As we learn we understand that I cannot be you, and you cannot be me

As we learn we understand to give one another criticism that’s given more constructively

As we learn we understand that we all want others to understand us and see

As we learn we understand that there is more than one way to be free