Different | Francine G. Farina & Sarah N.

trigger warning: homophobia

Ever since he was a small boy

He remembered the thoughts

Pulsing inside his head and how

He tried to push them away

He remembered his mother’s scolding

The ear-piercing sound of shame

When she found him wearing the satin

Pink dress from his sister’s room

Afterwards playing with dolls

And trying on dresses became a

Private act only to be done in the

Darkness of his sister’s closet

Until one day he came out to pose

In the light shining in front of the mirror

And a smile appeared across his face

When his true-self reflected back at him

Soon his secret was discovered

When his sister caught him

He saw truth shatter in front of his eyes

While she called upon their father

He remembered that night vividly

A fist pounded his face and he heard

The words "queer" and "faggot"

As his mother watched in silence

There was a knowing from that point on

That his life would never be the same

And the only option left was to run

Away from the anger and all of the hate

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Francine G. Farina has been writing seriously for 5 years. She has been published in Misfit Magazine, The Caregiver Magazine and has authored two books: Time Book 16 Cataclysm with the late Shawn M. Tomlinson, Old Bones A Collection Of Poetry. She shares her home with 3 adorable rescue cats.

Sarah N. is the founder of Sad Girl Diaries—An Online Literary Magazine. She loves connecting with writers through her Feedback and Critique Club and publishing poems, stories, and essays from both emerging and established writers. Sarah also loves reading, writing, singing, and playing ping pong in her free time.