'Sleepover Sessions' by Ravyn LaRue

Sometimes I feel like I’m being dumb
whenever I record myself crying
and put it on the internet
because it will prove to anyone
that I am an unstable and sensitive beast
who might cry on a dime
and they say people like that
cannot survive in the real world
so if you are one of them
hide your tears and fake it until you make it-

But I think there is something to be said
that I can record myself
speaking or singing
for no one else’s edification but my own
and I will cry
and do my best to make eye contact with a camera lens
because for me this is the truth
and I know it might be naive and unwise
but I think there is some bravery in raw emotion
and I would rather let my guard down
and prance into battle naked and die
than spend an eternity safe behind an armor
wherein no one can pierce my heart
though they cannot cradle nor hold onto it neither

I’m in the process of uploading another crying video
in which I know I sound sensitive and selfish
but I believe that being too soft
is better than the alternative
since I have been struck
and I now know what it feels like
so by letting the world see me cry and kvetch
my hope is that someone else
who cries whenever they speak of what hurts them
decides not to back down from battle
due to the fear of letting others see their tears
because rawness and truth
are stronger than all the bombastic bigotry in the world
and in two minutes
I will add my tears to the universal sea of humanity