Poetry

Discrimination & Worth

How do we determine the worth of something

Of someone

In a society where worth is determined by looks instead of character

Where the worth of your intelligence is determined by a few letters and numbers

2.0 GPA to graduate, A's and B's mean you're really smart and hardworking

Not to mention comments like "she doesn't have the body for that" or

"He's too feminine to be considered straight." And "He'll never be a real man"

What is a real man? What is too feminine?

And letter grades do not prove diligence and intelligence

When copying and plagiarism exist

Freedom of expression, freedom of speech

Yet people are attacked for what they want to be

For who they love, how they look

Everyone is always out of place in someone's book

"You don't belong here, you gay freak!" and "Go back to your country!"

Racism, homophobia, does it ever end, will there ever be peace?

Or will I have to drop to my hands and knees

I'm tired of raising my voice and having to scream

Simply for existing as a minority

I'm black, I'm transgender, and that's all people see

But I have a voice, please listen, because there's more to me

More than the color of my skin or how I identify

More than who I love, now let me clarify

I have a personality, I have morals and dreams

I'm out here for all people, but who's truly there for me

I suffer silently

I try to be

What people want rather than the real me

I'm trying, I'm sinking, every day I drown

But I push myself to the edge just for one person to be proud

I've lost myself over the years

Breakdown after breakdown

Growing fears

Constant overthinking

Is all I do enough
No matter how hard I strive to succeed

I feel constantly stuck

Stuck at rock bottom, they say you can only go up

But how does one rise again when feeling so down on luck