"I was kind of scared . . . I was scared that people would find out . . . and I would have to leave the school."
So she wrote a poem, You Don't Know, to help people understand. The poem received recognition, including publication in an online poem anthology, poeticpower.com, an accomplishment cheered at her school, Safety Harbor Middle.
For Mother's Day, Chelsea wrote another poem, You Are My Light, as a gift to her biological mom, Holly Roff, and her mother's partner, Donna Rouse, whom Chelsea calls Honey. Please see a Q&A with Chelsea and her moms on page 1D. Her poems appear here.
You Don't Know
You don't know all I've gone through,
How could you, you were not there,
When my life passed on without me,
And all I could do was stare,
You don't know all my eyes have seen,
All the anguish, hurt and hate,
No, you'll never know,
What it feels like when you must change your fate,
You try having gay parents for a day,
When people whisper behind your back,
You try living like I have for a day,
Having to watch for every crack,
After you've lived like I have,
And you finally get in my bind,
I welcome you to talk and talk,
But I think you'll have changed your mind.
* * *
You Are My Light
The world doesn't go easy on me,
It throws all it's got,
It's hard to be all you can be,
And you have to use all you've been taught,
Sometimes the possible seems impossible,
But one thing gets me through,
You let me cross the line that's not crossable,
And help me through another challenge anew,
You're the one that loves me,
Pushes me further than far,
The one that encourages me not to flee,
That keeps me out of the bars,
You are my light,
The one I look up to,
It always is bright,
I can always come to you,
I wanna thank you for helping me,
In all my times of need,
You've helped and loved me,
In all your good deeds,
You've spread my wings high,
So I can take flight,
I looked at you when I thought I'd die,
Mom, Honey, you'll always be my light.
