A poem written by Will76 and published on Gay Poetry Online.

TOUGHER




We sprawled before the computer last night
You: intent, reverent
Me: pliant, dissentient
Filling out an application for EI-EI-O.
I needed your help to dumb down the language
You needed no help in dumbing down my self.
Maybe it was shame with an unfamiliar name to your ears
Maybe you think I'm to blame for taking such a lowered aim at my fears.

I doubt it was intentional and it could even be justified.....
At my age minimum wage IS an outrage!
I AM a freak if I can't speak that a year contains 52 weeks!
All of a sudden, high school graduate is quite unimpressive
Next to post-everything education.
All at once I'm expected to kick and to shout
And defend rights I never cared for or about.

Inaction labels me a coward and you are disappointed
By this passive pose of preservation.
Next time, oh bellicose chyld of avarice, I will fight
I will be nails, I will be steel
I will be miserable and in a higher tax bracket.
I will sell out, I will rake in
I will be a fortress
I will not be fooled.

Next time I will be tougher from the last time I battled you.