poem: coming out day

poem: coming out day

1 January 2025    
from newpwords

brandon goletzski 

 

i want to take my clothes off in front of you / then my skin too / toss it aside rumpled & empty

 

i want to take my clothes off in front of you
then my skin too
toss it aside rumpled & empty
i want to lay what i reveal in front of you
& have you love it
because it's me
& you find a way to love me

you told me to worry about people like me
so i worried about myself
you told me to fear people like me
so i feared what i might become
you told me to hate people like me
so i cut myself in half like a pig on the killing floor

i dug my hands in ripping nerve & tissue looking for that one piece my tearing fingers could extirpate that would make me whole

i found it
& it was not what you wanted it to be
it was everything you told me

here i am
every child i've ever been is layered around me like snake skins i never shed
help me take them off like you're touching my cheek for the first time
tell me you aren't going anywhere
tell me i'm okay
tell me you love me even more now
with no buttons, no zipper to secure myself back inside
i'll never wear myself the same with you

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

thread: what doesn't harm kids?

 

private sexual thoughts do not violate a child's rights

 

attraction is not action

   

bly rede

It's important to understand what really harms children so we aim to prevent the right things.

 

ethan edwards

People are disgusted by the idea of adult sexual attraction to children, independent of any harm to particular children from child sex exploitation.

 

bly rede

In my teenaged years, I had access to a therapist, but I just never brought it up and the sessions ended without it ever being mentioned.

 
 
 
thread: what doesn't harm kids?
bly rede

It's important to understand what really harms children so we aim to prevent the right things.

 
 
 
private sexual thoughts do not violate a child's rights
ethan edwards

People are disgusted by the idea of adult sexual attraction to children, independent of any harm to particular children from child sex exploitation.

 
 
 
attraction is not action
bly rede

In my teenaged years, I had access to a therapist, but I just never brought it up and the sessions ended without it ever being mentioned.