Please don’t label me
Let me grow up tall
Let me choose for myself
Who I want to be
I was labelled a difficult baby
Subsequently so, a child
Then an awkward teenager
An adult with disorders of the mind
I don’t like labels
If I am labelled
It adds to my load
Emotional baggage
Which goes charging
Through my life
Like a buffalo
In the Wild West
Or like a stranger entering
The Last Chance Saloon
To encounter a low-life
A corrupt villain with a blade
Who stares me out
As the midday sun gleams
And catches my eye
Through semi-closed shutters
Let me choose
Whether I live or die
If I choose to live
Let it be my decision
Don’t pin me down
Or tie me to a post
With shackles and chains
And take my options away
Don’t take my choice away
Don’t take my voice away
Let me shout out loud
My opinion counts
Let me run free
Across the dusty plains
Let me choose who I am
Don’t label me.
(Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash)
Essentially Ellie 