This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Duke chapter.
From the minute
we leave the womb,
we are thrown into a courtroom
called life.
Where you are put on trial
by any and every one.
In this courtroom,
justice is not served,
punishment is
cruel and unusual,
and those who believe
in tolerance
​are just delusional.
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In this courtroom,
ignorance
serves as a law degree,
prejudice
serves as a law degree,
and hatred
serves a justification
for injustice.
In this courtroom,
the jury is made up of your peers.
But they aren’t your friends.
They’re your fears.
They are
the monsters that
lurk on top of the bed,
the best friends that
stab you in the back and turn the knife,
and the demons that torment you for life.
In this courtroom,
the prosecution is ruthless.
And demands that you repent.
Because in this courtroom
​you’re guilty until proven innocent.
You’re guilty.
Guilty of being too much.
Guilty of not being enough.
Guilty of being too fake,
too real,
too weak.
Guilty of being too tough.
Guilty of being too easy to hate,
Guilty of not being afraid show how you feel.
Guilty of being too normal or too freak.
Guilty of being too difficult to love.
Guilty of being too hard to measure.
Guilty of being too much “trash”
and not enough “treasure”.
Guilty for daring to be your own
in a world of clones.
There’ll come a day
when the pain, people, and opinions fade away.
There’ll come a day when the judgment will end
and the gavel in His mighty hand will descend.
And the trial that began when you were born
will finally adjourn.
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You’ll ascend the stairway to heaven
and reunite with the dogs that left you all alone.
Or you’ll ride the highway to hell
and Lucy will welcome you home.
There’ll come a day
when their labels won’t stick
and their bullets don’t hit.
There’ll come a day
when you settle into a box made for you.
A box where you’ll rest
forever—with closed eyes and arms across your chest.
You’ll have the company
of earthworms and dirt walls.
And at last, you will be free.
Free to just be
