October 13: My Risk

What is the risk I take
in penning these verses
to demonstrate the man
hiding behind the veneer
of respectability,
the man of dark complexities
leavened by a firm conscience,
someone unconventional,
that would be misunderstood,
a pariah, stigmatized,
were I known publicly
to be what I am.
Reputation, friends and family,
livelihood, are all at stake,
gambled to express
the hidden truth
that lies behind my eyes.