Stigma

A poem by Shift, member of Steering Group with lived experience

Will this blemish be what creates me and can I be me without it

As I go about my day, will my decision to wear a dress or trouser define my outcomes

With all the reactions and responses which ones will remain the same

As I look in the mirror 

I see another looking back at me 

Wondering who I am

Am I all the different parts of everyone else

Can you truly see Me!

I am so many different ideas of selection

I am only that of the perception of the other

Incapable of accepting me as anything else

The interpretation of standards 

Incorporated and represented

By the justification of one’s own belief

As I stand firm against the grain that’s embedded in my face

Will these cracks define me

Can I breathe through all the expectations laid before me

A pathway full of mirrors

Am I able to see within all these reflections

Exposing me to the elements

Will the cream from Boots superstore really do it??

As I slap it on trying to soften my experience 

I think to myself

What The Fuck