Do You Care?

my voice,
thought ordinary,
plain.
my voice,
unheard,

different in a land of same
no category
not preppy nor jock
different in a land of same.

censored.
words not heard;
meanings not listened to.

no chinos for me.
for me, not my school self
but my dream,
my dream
of a speaker
with no boundaries limiting words
that flow from my eager lips.

a freedom fighter,
a '60s thinker,
trapped in the chains of the '50s
full in the words of a mistrusting community:
normal = good.

speak with me
and with me
normal
will be the lie
that it really is.
there will be
no normal.
i will be me and you?
you will be you.
i am a love lover
and a hate hater.
i care
about finding the truth.
do you?

by A. W., Newton, MA