This just came to me while I was sitting here. I know, it belongs in the Arts forum but it's for newly-outs or 'on the way outs' and they're more likely to find it here.
"You're not alone"
Please know you're not alone in this,
I know that's what you have been told,
So many more of us exist,
than those inside want you to know.
You might not see us in the open,
but we are never far away,
a step behind you, in the shadows,
hearing every word you say,
When you say,
"I was not forgiven,
convicted before I was tried,
and the damage that they've done to me
goes so much deeper than inside
and all I've lost on my way out,
was so much more than I had planned
how can my family turn away from me?
I will never understand."
"The shepherds were supposed to keep me
safe from danger, harm and wrong,
instead they led me to the slaughter,
and I tried so hard to be strong.
I tried so hard to trust them,
to wait upon their God above,
and how I prayed their cold indifference
would give way to some show of love.
The glare of their false righteousness,
is blinding to my tired eyes,
and all the while they go on doing things,
that God Almighty must despise.
But I'm the one who was so sinful,
I'm the one who is to blame,
and so they battered my soul in until,
They knew I'd never be the same."
So...the years are going by now,
each new one kinder than the last,
and I'm beginning to imagine how,
I can find myself beyond my past.
You see, by throwing me to the dogs
they gave me the most precious prize
Because outside, clear of the fog
the truth came to my newborn eyes.
Their imperfection is as certain,
as is mine, or yours, my friend,
and if you look behind the curtain,
Their hold on you comes to an end.
So, listen,
I'm a little farther down the road,
from where I know you are today,
I see you standing at the crossroads,
your moral compass shows the way.
But you don't know yet how to trust it,
listen to your soul, and see,
that the price you paid for leaving,
was worth the cost, because you're free.
~Es