No Matter Who You Become

Why Are You Surprised

Why are you surprised by the man you've become?

This has always been you.

Your actions excused, your steps unchecked,

They let you do anything you wanted.

And now, you’ve become something that terrifies you.

Something that curses out its mother

And threatens to bludgeon its sisters.

Before, your threats were hollow whispers in the wind,

But now—every word is a stone,

A promise carried in the sharpness of your eyes.

You see us as less than dogs,

And all deserve respect only when Father says so.

I remember—

When you beat my puppy until she was near death’s door.

I ran to tell them, our parents,

And they laughed at me.

I remember the smirk on your face.

Now Mother trembles when she speaks of you,

Saying you’ve become something else.

But I’ve seen it for a long time.

And Father—Father doesn’t care.

“That’s just how men are,” they say.

But listen, regardless of all your new monstrous traits,

I want you to know:

I am always on your side.

Regardless of what you feel about my gender,

Or the poison fed to you about sisters.

Thousands will come,

Whispering venom in your ear about me—

Each word false,

But I hope you know, deep in your being,

That none of it is true.

Even when your heart believes them,

Even when your mind turns against me,

Your soul will know.

Hundreds of thousands will betray you,

Their promises breaking like dry twigs.

And when the last person leaves you—

When they’re gone,

You’ll find me,

Just where you left me.