Pay the Mind

What would you say if I told you that I
Am not a girl or a guy
That every day, I have to pay for the mind I have been given
Suffer through ignorance with a grin
Watch from the outside as the outside of me is taken, used to tear away
At me
Nothing that has been taken from me is my whole identity
I do not choose to be this way
I simply am
I have learned to weather it
Wail silently and say,
It’s just life
Not everyone can see that light
That I see is me
Would you say this is a work of fiction?
That I should not cause more friction
With this fraction of my identity?
My gender is not my whole self
I am not a doll or ball sitting on the shelf
I am so much more
But it is so important
To be called the right thing
But while I may not know the specifics,
I know the gist
That she is not me
He is not me
For now, they is the word that I choose
Not a word that you get to choose
Your mistakes, sometime purposeful chafes
chip away at my outer shell
I slowly become unwell
With hurt
So please
Though you might not understand
Just lower your scathing hand

And get it right.