"queer"

A poem about being called "queer".

i am a boy

but they don’t like to admit it;

they hesitate to speak my name.

i like other boys

but not in public;

not as if they ever feel the same.

call it what you will

but don't call me queer.

i’m not strange or odd,

so don't call me queer.

you could beat me

or rape me but

it won’t change anything.

i already live in fear.

my body isn’t wrong.

my body doesn’t lie

but it’s still a boy’s body.

my body is mine.

i am not queer.

i am a boy with a body,

i like other boys,

and that should be fine.