Believe

Believe
By M. F. B. Porter

Every day I see these people going to church

Every day I see these people walking the street

They look at me funny but never ask me

Hey kid, what do you believe?

They tell me they believe in morals and values

They believe in having family ties

They believe in abstinence and charity

They believe the worlds full of lies

They tell me they believe in meetings and politics

They believe in punctuality and commitments

They believe in trying hard to be good,

and they certainly believe in sin and keeping a distance

Every day I see these people going to church

Every day I see these people walking the street

They look at me funny and seem to say

“You should probably leave”

Like I’m so scary, Like I’m so dangerous

Just because I look different than you or make different choices

I must be crazy, I must be toxic

I must worship the devil or be uninformed about whatever topic

They look at me like I’m dirty

Like I must have gang tattoos and live at the bottom of a bottle,

Like I can’t keep a job or a paycheck

Or might kill them, or maybe just throttle

They look at me like I’m just below them,

That somehow God made them better,

They look at me like I’m an object that

they can diagnose down to the letter

They look at me like something to check off of a list

A project for this week that’s gone somehow amiss

Like a pebble in their shoe or a kink in their back

They look at me like I must be a druggy addicted crack

I get looked at all day with all sorts of fake smiles

They say things all coded like “We haven’t seen you in a while”

When really that means “Oh fantastic, you’re here, just more on my plate”

And they look at me, disgusted, like I’m the food and they already ate

Like they must be the sweet treat

and I must be an apple that’s sour
As if I'm rotten but they're not,

And they can’t stand to show their humanity for a minute, let alone an hour

Everyday I go to school, to work

And I see all these people

They actually do ask me-

Hey girl, what do you believe?

Well here it is:

I believe in friends and loyalty

and in building things that last

I believe humanity and courage

and not trying not to dwell on the past

I believe in God and my country

And that freedom should be free, even though it isn’t

I believe that love is for everyone

And not just the innocent

I believe in taking responsibility and being who you are,

even when it isn’t cool or accepted or or easy, not by far

I believe in giving compliments even if you don’t get one back,

I believe in pushing through all the days I just don’t think I can hack

I believe in raising my hand in places where I’m still learning,

In loving myself and remembering to share

I believe in telling the truth, almost always

Even though things don’t always turn out very fair

I believe in talking things out

And taking (some) time to make big decisions
I believe in keeping my temper (at least attempting)

And staring straight ahead for all head on collisions

I believe in trying my best even if I don’t always succeed

I believe in forgiving others and being an ally

Just like I believe in always being kind to strangers

Even if it’s just a smile as they walk by

I believe in people and hearts and how those hearts meet

Whether you call it karma or fate or serendipity or or the universe

I believe in searching for answers even if they hurt

And I believe in the never ending hope from the beginning of the next verse.