Boxes

They put us in boxes
From the moment we are born,

boy          girl
Simple enough,
But that’s just the start

With each little box
We fragment
Exchanging complexities
For complacencies

Trying to fit

Like the square peg
In the round hole

caucasian          afro-american
hispanic            asian
Each box sheers away
A little more integrity

You’re what?!          You’re Jewish?!
You’re what?!          You’re Gay?!
You’re what?!

fill in the blank
Because they already have
With yet another label
That doesn’t allow them to see the person
Beyond the fear in their eyes

And when we depart
There are still the forms to fill out
The labels to apply
The epitaph, to read aloud
For comfort, and consolation

And the last box that we will ever need to fill