REVERSE EVALUATION > POETRY
Do not bring your real self to work. In case
Of emergency, code-switch on the bus.
Always remember, you are not one of us.
You are not clubbable, but we expect you to try to be.
Speak our thoughts, exactly. Fit in. Your face will never fit:
You are a second-class citizen. But, if you know this,
We will allow you a corner space. Just
Never tell us anything uncomfortable,
Especially, what we look like as you look in.
Do not point out our collective delusions. Judge
Others as we judge you. Laugh along with us.
Group-think is group strength. To be here is a privilege.
Try harder than us. Try-hards will be told
That they are running against the current of our culture.
Do not prick our bubble with awkward realities.
Be sensitive to the climate. Do not tell it how it is.
Emily Hay is an English writer, a lifetime Londoner, insider-outsider, gay parent and community volunteer. She worked for over three decades in UK central government and wears her survivor’s badge proudly.
Emily’s poetry and prose has been published by Lancaster Litfest, Coffee House poetry magazine, Riggwelter Press, Gay Authors Workshop, Aôthen Magazine, Lavender Review, Free Verse Revolution, Vernacular Journal and Poetry Bus.
Instagram: @REMILYHAY