A Few, Short Declarative Sentences On This Particular Day In January

you can’t stop me
I am,
I am,
I am
a man;

you can’t stop me
I am
gay
and I deserve
to be here;

you can’t stop me
I am
an undocumented immigrant
trying to make
a better life
for my family;

you can’t stop me
I am a woman,
responsible
for my own body
and accountable
only to God;

you can’t stop me
I am a poet,
and my words
are my weapons,
which, like you,
I also have
the right to bear.

© 2013 Joseph Powell