I n b e t w e e n
Juniper Fox
I was full of hatred,
because of how I was treated.
Only my pain understood who I was.
I used to dam the line that split me in half,
creating two sides
I didn’t know I had.
I know it’s a part of me—
something to love, something new,
something to learn from,
and hopefully they’ll learn it too.
Stuck in-between,
getting to know my better halves.
Used to be afraid—
It wasn’t a phase.
All their hate, twisted into words,
tied down by fate.
I was meant to know
when I needed it the most.
It was painful
being a part of this world.
Stripped of my voice,
I didn’t get a say,
didn’t have a choice,
in the part I wanted to play.
You said to me,
“I know identity is hard for you,
because of everything you’ve been through,
trapped in and closeted from your truth.
But who really knows you,
better than you know yourself?
You are judged for being who you are,
hated for who you are not,
don’t know who you will become.
But don’t worry, they are just words
not a measure of everything you already are.”
I’ve unlocked more of my brain,
more potential.
I’m not an experiment,
waiting for your table.
I am not your latest temptation,
your latest accomplishment.
I am not the story in your head,
being told as a fable
because… surprise,
I exist.
I wasn’t ready to let go of the person I thought I was,
because I felt something different woven in my soul,
I was already set in stone,
a story written, ready to be told.
It’s a part of me—
something to love, something new,
something to learn from,
and hopefully they’ll learn it too.