Step Up on Second Writers' Anthology

Outed
By Daniel Concharty

Editor’s note: At a recent social gathering, a family member told some friends about the author’s mental illness. The family member divulged this information in the author’s presence and without his permission. In this piece, he describes his reaction.

First, a hush…
The blow, so low and hard
You outed me to everyone
And now the burden’s mine
Now my mental illness walks the streets
And pimps my story to friend and foe alike

The escape from my daydreaming
Is my nightmare from which I never wake
The rustling in the trees is the chatter of the leaves
On every family outing, whispering who I am
They look askance at a skewed person
Skewered on a rotisserie, like tainted meat

The scarlet letter now seers my flesh
I was branded—but not as a club member—and it hurt
I was just alone, which hurt more

Just finding myself, I don’t want to see me in the eyes of another
Who the hell am I anyway?
I cannot out-shout what was already said in a whisper

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