ComingOut
This Poem Perfectly Illustrates How It Feels to Come Out
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This Poem Perfectly Illustrates How It Feels to Come Out
The road to self acceptance is paved with uncertainty and the foundation upon which we ultimately build forward our new lives as LGBTQIA+ persons.
Coming out is the crucial turning point in all of our lives, one that defines bravery and growth. Denny Quinteros, a queer poet, accurately captures the multitude of emotions felt while in the closet and after in his two-part poem, "Closeted."
Closeted: The Same Parts
I stand in a dark room filled with fear and resentment
This stems from the idea that speculation of my identity may hurt my well beingÂ
This dark room soon enclosed me for plenty of my childhood year and became a sense of needÂ
Hiding felt like chains around my body but also protected me like armorÂ
I desired to be free but when I tried to reach the door in front of me, these chains pulled me down onto my knees
I can feel people on the outside trying to look inÂ
Their eyes filled with acceptance and protection but mine were to armored to be vulnerableÂ
They struggled to get inside and see but I struggled to get out and perceive a new view
A knock resignated  from the door, almost as a reminderÂ
An alarm, that I would snooze because I was not ready to wake upÂ
A lump in my throat began to build, filled with words I would not have the strength to hold
Everything came up roses, and I threw up a gardenÂ
I could only lay in the flowers and say such relieving words
"I am gay"Â
Closeted: Vulnerability
Vulnerability
Being open meant being free
Being free meant being vulnerable
Vulnerability meant having cuts all over your body that bleed crimson red without restrictionÂ
It wasn't pain that I felt from these wounds but liberationÂ
The same door that compressed me for so long became a new path of life for my future
The first step outside this new path exulted the pure adolescent nature that was embedded into my bodyÂ
Letting out a deep secret so massive relieved weight on my shoulders that pushed me down as I reached for my truest selfÂ
I could look at my reflection and finally recognize the person looking back at meÂ
I was a stranger that I had the pleasure to get to knowÂ
This is what coming out feels like
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