The Courage to Love: A Teen's Quiet Struggle

In the halls of youth, where whispers fly,

A secret held in the heart does lie.

A teen girl, with eyes like the dawn's first light,

Harbors a love that she keeps from sight.

With every heartbeat, her secret grows,

A tender feeling that nobody knows.

She walks in shadows, afraid to reveal,

The depth of a love that is achingly real.

For her, the stakes are high, the risks severe,

In a world that may not hold her dear.

She fears the whispers, the turn of a friend,

If her truth, like a bird, she lets ascend.

This girl, she's gay, and that's her truth,

A reality she's known since her earliest youth.

But fear wraps around her, a constricting vine,

In a society that might not align.

She dreams of a day, pure and bright,

Where love is love, in everyone's sight.

But for now, she treads with silent steps,

Guarding the love that her heart has kept.

Yet, in her, a quiet strength resides,

A hope that love can transcend the tides.

For even in fear, there's a light that glows,

The courage to love, a flower that grows.

So, she waits and wonders, with hope in her eyes,

For a world where love needs no disguise.

Where she can speak her heart, clear and free,

"I like you," she'll say, "for you are like me."

© Susie Stiles-Wolf