GREGORY LOCKE Poet Rhyme

Take Me As I Am

You call me difficult—I won't pretend,
I call it knowing what I'm truly worth.
I dug myself out time and time again,
No more fake smiles for a shallow earth.

You praise the man who bites his tongue,
Who trims his truth to earn applause.
I've seen too many men come undone,
Just to satisfy somebody else's cause.

They say my words cut far too deep,
But silence lets the poison live.
A painful wound ignored won't stay asleep,
No matter how much grace you give.

I've buried masks I used to wear—
A brother, a friend, a love on cue.
Each death exposed a truth laid bare:
Some departures are really long overdue.

I left the classroom, but kept my mind,
Life taught me lessons books can't hold.
Pain carved knowledge in me, raw and refined,
And scars spoke truths no book has ever told.

Now I don't bargain for my peace,
Or lease my soul to feel empowered.
The man I built through war and grief
Ain't yours to bend, shape, or devour.

So keep your praise that comes with ties,
Keep seats where truth must be counterfeit.
I'd rather sit with honest eyes,
than play a role that doesn't fit.

This is the face my trials designed,
This is the voice my failures grew.
Damn, if love demands I leave behind
The man I became to make it through.

The world can keep demanding less—
I finally became someone I won't betray.
Take me exactly as I stand...
Or watch me proudly walk away.

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