Do You Know Me
(This poem is dedicated to anyone who has ever felt the agony and pain of prejudice…
who have been left battered and beaten and scarred….
and to those who have inflicted that pain…
for you both know who you are.)
Do you know me?
Like every human I am made up of chromosomes and genes.
Yet, I am told I am not normal…and I don’t know what that means.
Do you know me?
I use to wake up every morning as happy as a clam…
glad to be alive knowing who I am…is…who I am.
Do you know me?
I was so happy with who I am and the way my life unfurled…
until I took my first steps into a cruel and heartless world.
Do you know me?
It was here my view of normal got distorted and confused…
for out here I have been made fun of, punched, spit upon…abused.
Do you know me?
Some people look at me and think, to them, I am a threat!
I am even hated, yes hated, by people I’ve never met!
Do you know me?
I have been beaten, shot, stabbed, strung up and left hanging from a tree.
by people who want to kill me…just for being me.
Do you know me?
I have friends who have killed themselves…an action I cannot condemn.
for they have chosen to leave a world that wasn’t ready for them.
Do you know me?
Have you ever felt so lonely…so sad…so deep in darkness…
a way out you cannot see?
Have you ever contemplated different ways to end your misery.
Do you know me?
Have you ever really looked at me…
ever stood where I have stood…
Have you ever tried to get to know me…
If not…oh how I wish you would.
For I am sure…all you out there who abuse me…who call me names…
once you get to know me…you will never feel the same.
Copyright © Jim Yerman | Year Posted 2022
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