When we were both younger
An old friend used to lecture me
on how gay men are emotionally stuck
at the age of 14, the age when their families
expect them to take the path to normalcy,
and for being rebellious they wanted
to take a less popular route to what they hoped
might be an equally valid form of adulthood.
He exemplified this 'path less chosen' story,
from different places we shared the same belief.
We had both grown up through living in places
where neither family nor child declared their aim,
and each vied to control the other through secrets and silence.
What I could never say to my friend
was how 14 is a difficult age for everybody-
men, women, straight and gay - we are all strays.
For all Normalcy is the path of least resistance
to common acceptance,
and the route to carlessness
denial, and vehement competition.
Whatever our sexuality
shooting ourselves in the foot
is the first step in the journey.
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