Be yourself, they say. 
but don’t.
Show how you are, 
but hide.
You should be proud,
but you won’t belong. 

Don’t feel like you can’t
say what you feel.
Don’t feel like you can’t
express your emotions,
yet when you do – 
You are chastised,
You are judged,
You are not the norm,
You be argumentative 
or a Debbie-downer…
so everyone thinks.
So stay quiet. 

But that’s not okay…
so say little, 
but you ruin the fun.
You become a problem again,
so be yourself…
but don’t.

T. Marina