Expect (a spoken word piece I wrote on the train a while ago)

Tags

abortions, equality, expectations, gay, gay rights, gender norms, gender rights, lesbian, poem, poetry, queer, rant, respect, slam poetry, spoken word

I’ve been told I expect too much,
maybe I’m not supposed to hold everyone
to the same moral standards, the same values
that I hold myself to,
but is asking for respect too much,
asking for human decency asking for some degree of tolerance
asking for understanding asking for truth
from the representatives we’ve chosen asking for recognition
of this SHARED human condition
asking for acceptance of natural differences
skin comes in all colors of the rainbow, like eyes and hair  and
who I want to touch me there because really
is that any of your business?

I didn’t think I was asking too much but some people think otherwise
some people don’t truly see past their eyes
but where are their minds where are their souls
what will they do when their daughters want abortions
and their sons bring home boyfriends what will they say
about gay-rights and being pro-life then
when these realities are brought home, when it’s someone close,

sometimes it’s different then or not and they throw the kids out but maybe
just maybe it’ll introduce doubt, that maybe they don’t really know
what it’s all about
that maybe it’s not all as clean cut straight line
between black and white and right and wrong as they had thought, and hey,
maybe you’ll begin to accept that your son likes dick
and your daughter`s last sexual partner was a prick
and she shouldn’t have to carry the cells that he left in her body
that could possibly form a child,

or maybe she’ll want to bring home a girlfriend
and yes they are having sex and maybe you’ll accept that,
but oh I expect I`m being too hopeful,
too optimistic and too willing to believe
that everyone has that ability in them, to love and accept regardless of differences.
I guess I can only expect that of myself

So if my daughter would rather be a boy then that`s cool
with me and if my son wants his bedroom pink that`s perfectly alright
and if both my kids are straight and not queer in the slightest,
love their gender norms I`ll love them anyway because gay or straight or any place you fall
on the sexual preference spectrum on the gender identity curve
I will love you with every piece of my patchwork soul
and I will want you to expect the same from yourself.