I have this need so deep within
That not being able to express it
Hurts my soul

Can't do it with men
For fear of appearing gay
Can't do it with women
For fear of appearing
As a sexual predator

So in everyday life
I wear this mask
That I so desperately
Want to take off

The longer I keep it on
The more rigid I become

It gets to the point
Where I wonder
Will I every break free
Or am I trapped

Just when there seems to be no hope
I remember the friends in my life
And smile

Hugging, holding hands, walking arm in arm, running our finger through each others hair,
laying in each others arms, crying, laughing, yelling and talking to the point where the
hours slip into minutes.

I realize one important fact.
Only a select few
Will truly understand
my being as I theirs
With them, speaking will be an act of sharing
And silence a communication of mutual understanding.

People may sexualize and romanticize this longing for touch
But I know it goes way beyond that

Thank you, my friends
For making this lesson a reality