Category: Poems

  • “If You’re Gonna Go, Let Me Go With You”

    Your True Direction

    spoken word, from the trenches of loss and love

    Let me make this simple.

    I’ve lost people I shouldn’t have lost.

    Not to war. Not to car crashes.

    But to silence. To shame. To the weight they were too scared to hand someone else.

    And I’m pissed about it.

    Because I would’ve sat there all damn night.

    No advice. No judgment. Just presence.

    But no one gave me that chance.

    And now all I’ve got are eulogies I never wanted to hear.

    So this isn’t some poetic tribute.

    This is a wake-up call.

    To you. To anyone thinking they’re too far gone or too heavy to carry.

    Let me say this as clear as I can:

    I’d rather lose sleep than lose you.

    I’d rather be uncomfortable with your truth than devastated by your silence.

    Don’t make me show up in a suit. Show up now. Messy, tired, breaking — whatever. Just show up.

    This poem is for every person who’s ever thought no one would sit with them in the dark.

    You’re wrong. I will.

    And I’m not the only one.

    Just stay.

    He never asked me to be okay. He just stayed — quiet, loyal, present — when no one else knew how.

    I would’ve stayed.

    Sat beside you in silence.

    Watched your walls crumble and said nothing —

    just handed you the pieces

    because I’ve been there, too.

    But you didn’t let me.

    Didn’t give me the chance

    to carry even a corner of that pain.

    You just… vanished.

    Quiet like snow.

    Loud like a gunshot.

    Now all I hear

    is your absence.

    I would’ve taken the late-night calls,

    even the ones where you didn’t say a damn word.

    I would’ve sat on the floor with you,

    in the dark,

    in the mess,

    while the world kept spinning and you couldn’t.

    I know that place.

    I’ve cursed the sunrise too.

    Screamed into pillows until the seams split

    and still woke up wondering

    if it was worth it to breathe again.

    So don’t tell me I wouldn’t understand.

    Don’t you dare tell me I wouldn’t have stayed.

    I’ve lived inside the ache

    that convinced you no one could love you through it.

    But I would’ve tried.

    God, I would’ve tried.

    Now I’m stuck

    writing poems instead of texts,

    lighting candles instead of cigarettes,

    whispering your name

    to a sky that never answers back.

    And here’s what haunts me:

    I never wanted your strength.

    I just wanted your truth.

    Even if it was ugly.

    Even if it shook.

    Because I’d rather

    hear you say “I can’t do this anymore”

    than stand at your grave

    wishing you had.

    I’d rather hold your trembling hands

    than hold your obituary.

    I’d rather lose sleep

    than lose you.

    So if there’s someone else out there

    standing on the edge,

    this is for you, too:

    You don’t have to make it look easy.

    You don’t have to carry it alone.

    You don’t even have to speak —

    just stay.

    And let someone love you

    in the middle of your falling apart.

    Because I promise you this:

    I’d rather walk with you through hell,

    than sit through your eulogy in heaven.

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    About Your True Direction

    I’m not here to play nice, I’m here to make change. I work with veterans, teens, career shifters, and anyone who’s ever been told they’re too late, too broken, or too much. I help people rewrite their story when the world hands them a script they never asked for.

    I don’t save people. I remind them how to save themselves.

    That’s my legacy, and I’m just getting started.

    Follow along as I speak truth, challenge systems, and help folks build a life that actually fits.

    Connect with Us

    Follow us on Medium @YourTrueDirection.

    Your journey is yours to shape, take the next step in Your True Direction.

  • If My Pride Offends You, That’s the Point

    Your True Direction

    This isn’t a phase. This isn’t a performance. This is my truth — loud, raw, and unapologetic. If it makes you uncomfortable, that’s the point. 🏳️‍🌈🔥

    Yeah.

    I’m gay.

    And I say it with my whole chest.

    Not just a whisper in safe spaces.

    Not just a hashtag in June.

    Not just when I’m around people who “get it.”

    I’m gay. Loud. Proud. And not here to make it easier for you to swallow.

    You uncomfortable?

    Good.

    Sit in it.

    Because I marinated in your comfort for years —

    choking on my own truth

    so you could keep sipping coffee in your illusion.

    I’ve had people look me dead in the face and say,

    “I don’t care what you do — just don’t make it political.”

    But my existence has always been political.

    You politicized me before I ever opened my mouth.

    Before I ever held the hand of someone I loved.

    Before I ever said the words out loud that almost killed me in silence.

    You don’t get to say

    “Live and let live”

    and then look away when laws strip my humanity.

    You don’t get to say

    “I have no problem with gay people”

    but then flinch when we stop apologizing for being visible.

    You don’t get to play peacekeeper

    when you’ve been sitting on the side of the oppressor

    just because you weren’t holding the weapon.

    Let me make this clear:

    I don’t exist for your approval.

    I don’t walk into rooms hoping to be tolerated.

    I walk in knowing I belong — whether you like it or not.

    I’ve spent years editing myself,

    softening my voice,

    adjusting the way I speak,

    the way I dress,

    the way I breathe —

    just to make myself smaller for a world that couldn’t handle someone like me.

    And now?

    Now I expand.

    Now I take up space.

    Now I let every ounce of who I am fill the room,

    because I’m done pretending that survival is the same thing as peace.

    You don’t know what it’s like

    to love with one eye over your shoulder.

    To laugh carefully.

    To watch how you sit, speak, smile, exist —

    because any part of you might give away a truth

    they’re still ready to crucify.

    But I do.

    And I survived it.

    So I’m not going back.

    You wanna roll your eyes at Pride?

    You wanna call it “too much”?

    You wanna scoff at the flags,

    the colors,

    the noise?

    That’s because you’ve never had to fight

    just to feel normal in your own f*cking skin.

    Pride isn’t decoration.

    It’s declaration.

    It’s defiance.

    It’s a middle finger to every system, every church, every family

    that made us believe we were born broken.

    So yeah.

    I’m gay.

    And I don’t owe you an explanation.

    I don’t owe you a filter.

    I don’t owe you the watered-down version

    that makes you feel okay.

    You don’t like it?

    Block me.

    Mute me.

    Write me off.

    But what you won’t do — what you can’t do — is erase me.

    Because I’m not going anywhere.

    I’m not some trend.

    Not some “phase.”

    Not some character in a sitcom made for your entertainment.

    I am real.

    I am alive.

    I am not asking.

    I speak now for every queer kid who’s still hiding.

    For every adult who still flinches when someone asks about their personal life.

    For every soul who thought loving who they love meant losing everything else.

    I speak now because silence was never peace —

    it was a slow death dressed in politeness.

    But this?

    This is life.

    This is freedom.

    This is fire.

    So if my truth is too loud for you,

    cover your ears.

    But don’t expect me to lower my voice.

    Because I was quiet once.

    And it almost destroyed me.

    Now I live with the volume all the way up.

    And I’m not turning it down for anyone.

    Happy Pride.

    We’re not here to be liked.

    We’re here to live.

    We’re here to lead.

    We’re here to burn down every lie

    that told us we had to earn the right to exist.

    Yes.

    I’m gay.

    And if you can’t handle that —

    that’s a you problem.

    Enjoyed this article? Please support our work!

    ☕ Buy me a coffee: Thank You!

    About Your True Direction

    I’m not here to play nice, I’m here to make change. I work with veterans, teens, career shifters, and anyone who’s ever been told they’re too late, too broken, or too much. I help people rewrite their story when the world hands them a script they never asked for.

    I don’t save people. I remind them how to save themselves.

    That’s my legacy, and I’m just getting started.

    Follow along as I speak truth, challenge systems, and help folks build a life that actually fits.

    Connect with Us

    Follow us on Medium @YourTrueDirection.

    Your journey is yours to shape, take the next step in Your True Direction.

  • If My Pride Offends You – That’s the Point

    A letter to the mother who taught me how to hide myself.

    Your True Direction

    For every son or daughter who’s ever been told to tone it down, hide who they are, or “keep it in the family” – this is for you.

    For every queer kid whose parents tried to shove them back in the closet after they finally broke free of it.

    This isn’t a plea for acceptance.

    It’s a warning shot.

    We’re done apologizing.

    I walked away from the house that taught me to hate my own reflection – and I didn’t look back.

    Mom,

    Let’s cut through the crap.

    That poem I posted – “If My Pride Offends You, That’s the Point” 

    Yeah. That was about you.

    Every single line.

    Every word carved out of the silence you insisted I keep.

    Every sentence soaked in all the times I swallowed myself to keep you comfortable.

    You want to know why I wrote it?

    Why I don’t come around anymore?

    Why the version of me who still wanted your approval is dead and buried?

    Because I got tired of being the only one who ever had to shrink.

    Let’s go back.

    When I told you I wanted to marry Chris,

    you didn’t smile.

    You didn’t cry happy tears.

    You didn’t ask what kind of cake we were having or what colors we picked.

    You looked me dead in the eye and said,

    “Are you sure?”

    Like I just told you I was getting a face tattoo, not committing my life to the person I love.

    Then you tried to walk it back.

    Tried to say you asked Benny and Ashley the same thing.

    No, you didn’t.

    Don’t insult my intelligence.

    You celebrated their love because it fit inside your box.

    You accepted their marriages without a flinch.

    But with me?

    You flinched.

    And then came the wedding.

    Your judgment didn’t stop.

    You said we shouldn’t dance.

    Because “someone might not like it.”

    You ever ask me if I liked spending my life editing who I am just to be allowed in a room?

    You didn’t care about that.

    You cared about optics.

    About shame.

    About what people would say.

    Then Dad didn’t show up.

    And you say, “I argued with him.”

    Really?

    When?

    Where?

    Because I never saw it.

    You didn’t raise your voice.

    You didn’t defend me.

    You didn’t say,

    “Then I’m not going either.”

    You didn’t say,

    “That’s your son, and he matters.”

    You just stayed quiet.

    Sat in it.

    Normalized it.

    You want points for arguing behind closed doors?

    You don’t get credit for invisible battles when your son was left standing alone at his own wedding.

    And if all that wasn’t enough?

    Let’s talk about Thanksgiving.

    Our first one after we were married.

    Chris and I show up – husband and husband.

    Legal. Legitimate. Real.

    And what do you do?

    You introduce him as “Ryan’s friend.”

    Not my partner.

    Not my husband.

    Not family.

    A friend.

    And when my nephew tried to introduce Chris properly,

    you corrected him.

    You corrected him.

    Let’s talk about that, Mom.

    Because what you said in that moment was loud as hell:

    That I was an embarrassment.

    That Chris, who is legally part of this family, wasn’t welcome as who he was.

    That being gay is something to downplay, something to manage, something to cover in polite company.

    What if Cody was gay?

    What did you just teach him?

    That if he ever loved differently, he’d have to hide it?

    That his truth would embarrass you, too?

    Because that’s what you said without saying it.

    And let me tell you:

    I heard you.

    He heard you.

    Everyone heard you.

    I used to think you just didn’t understand.

    But now I realize you did.

    And you chose silence anyway.

    You say, “I’ve always loved you.”

    No, Mom.

    You loved the version of me that was small.

    Quiet.

    Careful.

    Filtered.

    Tolerable.

    You loved me when I was convenient.

    But every time I stepped closer to truth – you stepped back.

    That poem?

    That wasn’t for show.

    That was the sound of my ribs cracking open so my soul could finally breathe.

    It was everything I never got to say while you smiled and shifted and pretended everything was fine.

    You’ve said things like, “Don’t post that.”

    “Don’t say that at dinner.”

    “Keep it private.”

    No.

    I’m done keeping your secrets.

    Done protecting people who never protected me.

    Done tiptoeing around your shame like it’s my burden to carry.

    If my pride offends you?

    Good. That means it’s working.

    Because I’m not here to make it easy for you anymore.

    I’m not here to fold my love into something that fits your dinner plates.

    I’m not here to pretend your silence was love when it was just fear wearing a cardigan.

    You had a chance to love me boldly.

    You had a chance to say,

    “That’s my son. That’s his husband. This is family.”

    You didn’t.

    You chose quiet.

    You chose image.

    You chose your comfort over my dignity.

    So no, I don’t call.

    No, I don’t come around.

    Because every time I did, I had to leave pieces of myself at the door.

    And now?

    I refuse.

    I take up space.

    I speak loud.

    I post what I want.

    I dance with my husband.

    And if that makes you uncomfortable?

    That’s. The. Point.

    You had your chance to show up.

    You had your chance to speak out.

    You had your chance to be proud.

    Now I’ll do it for myself.

    And I won’t lower the volume just because you’re still not ready to hear the truth.

    – Ryan

    Enjoyed this article? Please support our work!

    ☕ Buy me a coffee: Thank You!

    About Your True Direction

    I’m not here to play nice, I’m here to make change. I work with veterans, teens, career shifters, and anyone who’s ever been told they’re too late, too broken, or too much. I help people rewrite their story when the world hands them a script they never asked for.

    I don’t save people. I remind them how to save themselves.

    That’s my legacy, and I’m just getting started.

    Follow along as I speak truth, challenge systems, and help folks build a life that actually fits.

    Connect with Us

    Follow us on Medium @YourTrueDirection.

    Your journey is yours to shape, take the next step in Your True Direction.

  • The Day Love Was Conditional: Healing Without Closure from Family Estrangement

    Day 1 of a 7-part series exploring the emotional cost of conditional love, family estrangement, and the quiet strength it takes to heal when those meant to love you choose silence instead.

    Sometimes, the loudest absences are the ones that never needed words. This empty chair holds the weight of what was missing.

    The Day Love Was Conditional

    What Is Parental Rejection and Why It Hurts So Deeply

    The Hidden Weight of Conditional Love

    “I Love You, But…” — The Words That Haunt

    The Long-Term Effects of Being Rejected by a Parent

    • Anxiety and self-doubt
    • Fear of abandonment in adult relationships
    • Difficulty trusting others
    • Depression and complex trauma
    • Perfectionism or people-pleasing
    • Estrangement from family
    • Loss of cultural or religious identity

    Rewriting the Narrative: Healing Through Self-Acceptance

    7 Ways Parental Rejection Damages LGBTQ+ Children

    1. Shame-Based Identity — Children internalize guilt over something they cannot change.
    2. Mental Health Struggles — Higher rates of depression, self-harm, and suicide.
    3. Loss of Safety Net — Lack of emotional or financial support during critical years.
    4. Estrangement Trauma — Fear of being “cut off” for who they are.
    5. Delayed Self-Acceptance — Many suppress their identity far into adulthood.
    6. Attachment Wounds — Struggles with romantic and platonic relationships.
    7. Life-Limiting Beliefs — “I’m not enough,” “I’m unlovable,” “I’ll be alone forever.”

    Resources: Support Systems for Healing and Growth

    • PFLAG — The nation’s largest organization for LGBTQ+ people, their parents, and families.
    • The Trevor Project — Crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth.
    • It Gets Better Project — Uplifting stories and resources for LGBTQ+ teens and adults.
    • Therapy for LGBTQ+ Issues on Psychology Today — Find LGBTQ-affirming therapists in your area.
    • GLAAD — Media advocacy and resources to support LGBTQ+ representation and support.

    FAQs About Parental Rejection and LGBTQ+ Identity

    The Light Beyond the Silence

    🗓️ Up Next in the Series…

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  • You Say You Love Me

    Love Demands Growth, Not Just Words

    By R.T. Garner

    “Love is not what you say; it’s what you do. True love transcends words and becomes action.” — Unknown

    Lost in the Rain: A Mother and Son Struggle to Bridge the Distance

    You “Love Me,” you say, but you don’t understand me,
    Two words so empty they have no meaning.
    You say you love me, but you don’t have empathy,
    Blind to my pain, my silent plea.

    You claim to love me, but you don’t show it,
    A love that is expressed but never committed.
    For a mother, your words cut deep,
    Promises broken, a wound I keep.

    You say you love me, but you hold your mother’s title,
    A legacy of judgment, sharp and vital.
    You say you love me, but you tell white lies,
    Echoes of your toxicity in your eyes.

    You wear love like a stolen cloak,
    A thin mask and an unspoken joke.
    But love is neither control nor quite blame, control,
    It’s not wielded as a weapon, not a petty game.

    You say you love me, but your hands feel cold,
    Tracing scars from stories I’ve already told.
    Don’t you see your child left out in the rain,
    Searching for warmth but finding only pain?

    Break the cycle; don’t just repeat,
    Love is not conquest, not deceit.
    Hold me with tenderness, and allow the past to go,
    Love requires development and the capacity to grow.

    You say you love me, but love is shown,
    In acts of compassion, seeds you’ve sown.
    Allow love to be healing, real, and true,
    Without the shadow of suffering I’ve outgrew.

    So, if you love me, prove me wrong,
    Show me your heart truly belongs.
    Because I need love that sustains and finds a place,
    Not just words or transient grace.


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    About Your True Direction
    Your True Direction is dedicated to empowering individuals navigating life’s transitions. Through inspiring stories and actionable strategies, we aim to help you reclaim ambition, overcome challenges, and thrive in every stage of your journey.

    Connect with Us

    Thank You for Reading!
    Your journey is yours to shape — take the next step in Your True Direction. If this article resonated with you, don’t forget to clap, share, and follow us for more inspiring content!

  • The Silent Storm

    The Silent Storm

    By R. T. Garner

    “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
    Helen Keller

    The Silent Storm is not just the echoes heard in the night,

    It’s the roar of the memories that hold on so tight.

    It’s the thunder that echoes within the crowded room,

    And the lighting strikes that fragment the gloom.

    It’s the winds of ambiguity that never seem to fade,

    The many treacherous battles within that can’t be displaced.

    And it’s not just the nightmares that come in the dead of night,

    But the shadow of stolen memories which clouds the light.

    And what of this expression, this burden, “nightmares?”

    A shadowy dominion, no solace dares.

    Rooted in Old English, it first took flight,

    The demon, the mare, who suffocates those in the night.

    A spirit that presses on a sleeper’s chest,

    Crafting horror that takes one’s rest.

    In German lore, it spreads its dread,

    From the Old Norse mara to where Slavic tales led.

    Over the centuries, the word evolved,

    To name the fears that were never resolved.

    A sensation of dread, oppression, despair,

    A peek into the darkness, lingering there.

    The Silent Storm, like the nightmare’s lore

    It’s not just a battle fought behind closed doors.

    It shapes how we think, how we see, how we live,

    Demanding more strength than the world can give.

    It’s the flood of the feeling we do our best to contain,

    The weight of the downpour we can’t explain.

    But it’s also the proof of the determination we hold,

    Navigating rough waters, both fierce and bold.

    Day after day, we forge ahead, weathering the gale,

    Standing tall when we would rather assail.

    The Silent Storm is the name we give,

    To this force inside us teaching us to live.

    So, when you hear this storm in the air,

    Know it’s a journey, a cross we bear.

    Not something to “get over” or simply ”let go.”

    But a part of us now as we learn to grow.

    If this inspired you, please check out more of my writings here:

    Medium

    About Your True Direction
    Your True Direction is dedicated to empowering individuals navigating life’s transitions. Through inspiring stories and actionable strategies, we aim to help you reclaim ambition, overcome challenges, and thrive in every stage of your journey.

    Connect with Us

    • Follow us on Medium: @YourTrueDirection
    • Have a story to share or want to collaborate? Email Ryan at ryan@yourtruedirection.com.

    Thank You for Reading!
    Your journey is yours to shape — take the next step in Your True Direction. 

  • Through the Eyes of Love

    By R. T. Garner

    They were children, young and bright,
    Dreams like stars in the quiet night.
    But in their homes, those dreams grew thin,
    Boxed in by the beliefs held within.

    Jonah loved the sky so wide,
    With planets and stars he could not hide.
    But his parents saw him through a narrow frame,
    Autism became his only name.

    “Be realistic,” they softly sighed,
    And Jonah’s dreams began to die.
    He learned to lower his hopeful gaze,
    Caught in their well-meaning, fearful haze.

    He stopped speaking of the stars above,
    Became a stranger to his own love.
    His spirit dimmed, his world shrank small,
    Trapped in a diagnosis, behind a wall.

    Across town, Emily faced her fight,
    Her truth unfolding in the soft moonlight.
    Bisexual, she whispered in the dark,
    But her parents’ hearts couldn’t bear the spark.

    They saw her truth as a storm to outlast,
    Hoping it was something that soon would pass.
    “Maybe in time, you’ll see what’s right,”
    But Emily’s world became wrapped in night.

    She lived two lives, her spirit split,
    Hiding herself just to fit.
    Her love and dreams, locked away tight,
    Shame and fear clouding her sight.

    Their homes, meant to be safe and warm,
    Became places of silent, internal storms.
    Their parents, loving but lost in belief,
    Gave them a world built on fear and grief.

    But there’s more to Jonah than a label’s mark,
    More to Emily than a love kept dark.
    They are not the limits their parents see,
    They are endless oceans yearning to be free.

    Let us learn from the stories they tell,
    Of how belief can lift or build a shell.
    For every child deserves a space,
    Where they are loved, not put in place.

    So may we see them whole and true,
    Not what we fear, but what they pursue.
    For in their dreams, their hopes, their flight—
    They hold the world in their own right.

  • I Chose to Be Free

    By R. T. Garner

    “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”

    -Carl Jung

    When asked of choices, hardest in my life,
    I spoke without pause, without a knife—
    Leaving my family was the choice I made,
    Not from desire, but a path I had to pave.

    As a veteran scarred by battles unseen,
    With PTSD, my life became a screen—
    A lens through which they could not see,
    A person beyond a diagnosis, beyond the debris.

    For years, I tried to make it right,
    To show them the man beyond the fight,
    But I saw myself fading in their eyes,
    Trapped in a version they’d idealize.

    To stay would mean losing who I am,
    A soul drowned by what they couldn’t understand.
    Choosing myself meant stepping away,
    From love that had turned to a suffocating cage.

    I chose my sanity, my right to be whole,
    Not just a “condition” with limits to control.
    For every moment of doubt they instilled,
    I sought to reclaim the truth that they killed.

    Their love was filtered through fear and disdain,
    They couldn’t see past the scars, only the pain.
    Every bad day was a symptom to fix,
    Not a moment of humanness they could coexist.

    I was never a problem; I was never a disease,
    Yet in their eyes, I was never set free.
    To love them was to change, to bend and to break,
    But my spirit needed more than they could ever remake.

    I remember my sister’s words, her cold plea,
    “He just wants us to change for him,” said to me.
    Yet they tried to mold me into what they could bear,
    Not a person who fought battles, but someone to repair.

    The hypocrisy stung, but it opened my eyes,
    To the limits they set, to the narrative I defied.
    My dreams were dismissed, capped by their doubt,
    But I chose a life where my spirit could shout.

    It wasn’t easy, the choice to depart,
    It came with grief, tearing at the heart.
    But I missed what family should be, not what it became,
    A space where love was free, not a diagnosis’ name.

    I don’t miss the judgment or the toxic weight,
    The feeling of being “fixed” for their sake.
    I chose to walk away, to seek my own light,
    To build a life where I could freely write.

    Now, I’m not just PTSD; I’m a person alive,
    With dreams to chase, with strength to survive.
    I’ve found a freedom in choosing my path,
    In stepping away from what bound me to wrath.

    Do I love them? Yes. Do I miss them? True.
    But not the narrative that kept me askew.
    I reclaimed my story, my worth, and my peace,
    By choosing myself, I chose to be free.

    So when asked of the hardest choice I’ve made,
    It was leaving behind what love had decayed.
    It was choosing a future where I define my worth,
    Where I am whole, where I walk my own earth.

    I chose to live fiercely, to love without chains,
    To refuse to be boxed by others’ refrains.
    To honor my journey, each scar and each breath,
    I chose to be free, and it saved me from death.