The Courage to Love

Waiting by the sides
Always the one to bypass rides
I appeared to disappear
Even to the best of my peer.

What was this fear
Eating me from feet to ear
Telling me to not mingle
In a crowd but always single.

You are different
All angled and bent
I tried to be obtuse
All I could do was refuse.

But, Oh woe is me
Became my new philosophy
Such sad state of mind
Put me in a mental bind.

So I tried my best
To fit the shoe at everyone’s behest
Thinking it might bring solace
Preventing fall from my supposed grace.

When my mind was almost made
You came to me like a tree giving shade
Fierce, bold, open for the world to see
You were all I desired to be.

Your fearless stance opened my eyes
Made me realise that I am not the one full of vice
That one time when you gave me your hand
Gave me the courage to love, take my stand.

Now I am a free bird soaring through the sky
Putting hatchlings under my wings, teaching them how to fly.

PS. This was a prompt on the topic Courage to Love by the LGBTQ community of my university. I will forever be grateful to my university for giving such sparks amid a monotonous life, prompting me to pick a pen for something other than studies every now and then.