Creative | Katie Mathews |  August 18th, 2025.

You say, “Defend.”

Defend your home, but how can I call this place home, 

When day and night, I’m forced to hide from its people? 

A home where hate flickers bright, 

And love is uprooted, tossed aside. 

I am not willing to defend a country that refuses to defend me. 

A promise inked in history, 

The Constitution declares love and truth for all. 

Yet my rights are denied, 

For it's not the “right” kind of love. 

Shoved to the shadows, dismissed as broken, 

We who dare to take up space are erased. 

They burn our flags, fueled by hate,

The colorful ones, symbols of love, are consumed by flames. 

If it were an American Flag,

They’d call me mad.

But when they burn the rainbow flag, 

They call themselves heroes.

You say, “Belong.”

But how can I belong in a place that refuses to see me? 

A place where my love is deemed inferior, 

And my identity is questioned at every turn? 

A nation that preaches freedom for all, 

Yet limits the freedom of those who love differently. 

I will not belong to a place that demands I silence my truth.