hush by Leo Palta (14, United States)

hush 
it echoes through the room as you
try not to cry because 
they never listen 
but why would they listen 
to you? ​

---

young, queer, depressed 
useless. 
but the only thing they see is young
too young to know 
too young to have problems 
too young to cry in the bathroom because
you overheard your nani and nanoo
arguing over whether or not to 
love you because 
she 
is worthless and wrong and a -
you can't even think the word 
because it hurts 
so much 
especially coming from 
the people you loved most in the
whole entire 
world 
hush, 
they say, 
shoving you into a corner 
because you dared to 
whisper under your breath that you
hate this 
but what can you do? 
suck it up, be a man 
if you want to be one so 
badly
hush, 
they say when you protest 
and it rings through your ears 
until you just have to write it down on paper
so fast that your fingers are stained for
days with blue ink 
from the leaky fountain pen you got for your
tenth birthday 
and then you show it to your 
cousin and he 
calls you the same thing that your
nani and nanoo did and you 
have to cry again but you can't 
go because -
if you go you know you won't come back
and so you 
hush.

​