– Holly Maller

brought into this life, he
struggles to take the advice of those who are like him

twenty two years of dread, he
tries to find space in his head to accept himself

how, he
asks himself

how can he learn to be okay with the person he
is?

uneasy in his skin, he
seeks something, anything
to disengage from himself

but with further reflection, he
learns something new

how is it that she didn’t realize sooner?

consumed by fear, she
struggles to confront the truth about herself

no wonder she couldn’t take their advice, for she
was never he to begin with

memories spanning back to eight, she
can’t help but to feel sad for realizing so late

a new found acceptance, she
knows that late is better than never

for without it, she
would not have made it this far in the first place