(Let the darkness shine!)
Stranger, can I trust you?
Will you help me keep my faith?
Or will you shun me too,
Reviled by my ugly, shameful face?
Do I lie to you, dear stranger
And assure you, “I am fine.”?
Or do I dare to reveal the truth
And let dark corners shine?
Do I tell you about my adoption
A personal, primal wound?
A sacrifice in the name of family,
Patriarchy’s fruitless boon.
Do I tell you about my abuser,
A close family member?
An adopted boy from the slums,
A twisted and rotten creature.
Do I tell you about women,
Loved, used and abused?
A selfish hunger for selfless love,
A heart severely bruised.
Do I tell you about family,
A greedy, prideful lot?
Fighting over ownership,
While everyone and everything rots…
Do I tell you about cousins,
With mocking, belittling laughter?
Friendship and love rejected,
A heart closed tighter.
Do I tell you about addiction
Things I’ve smoked and consumed?
Puke and piss on my shoes,
Living life in shameful fumes.
Do I tell you about loneliness,
That keeps me feeling blue?
My many friends,
Who know me less than you?
Do you see my eyes, Stranger?
I wonder what you see.
Do you see the broken man,
A boat lost at sea?
Or do you witness,
The many shades of my life?
O Stranger turned lover,
Come, let us cry.
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