In my pre-teens, the sun did shine, <br />I danced and romped, laughed and played. <br />Then it was all taken away, <br />And for five and a half long years, <br />The clouds were so dark, and my tears <br />Were more than the rain. <br /> <br />I was a happy child, <br />Whose manner was mild, <br />Who liked to jump rope, <br />But to my selfish mother, nope, <br />I wasn't allowed to play. <br /> <br />Then came the dark day, <br />When she bundled me up <br />And said 'here is your cup, <br />Full of harshness and brine, <br />Drink dear child of mine, <br />And know that in this world, <br />A boy cannot be a girl.' <br /> <br />I was taken away that fearful day, <br />From all I had known, and held at bay <br />By the powers that be, <br />Saying I cannot be me. <br /> <br />I was a child of twelve, <br />Who cried and tried to delve, <br />Into a secret world, <br />Where I could be this girl, <br />Who cried for a mother's love, <br />But who refused to budge, <br />Because her son was dead, <br />And she just couldn't bed <br />All of her anxieties and fears, <br />Of what people would think and say, <br />Causing her child to cry more tears, <br />Every night and every day. <br /> <br />Oh why could she not see, <br />That I just have to be me?<br /><br />Barbara Lynn Terry<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-just-have-to-be-me/
