The Arcade Power Hour

it would be so awesome

When I was young

I woke up one day

To see all of my toys

Shoved in a box

Written upon it

In permanent marker

Was a warning

“Keep everything inside”

So I kept it all in

And I played with my toys

Within these tiny cardboard walls

That confined them

But one day I thought

What if I didn’t?

And I yanked just one out

And played with it right on the floor

Nobody saw

But from that day on

I played with my toys, outside of their box

Hidden from those who could stop me

We can’t play with toys forever, though

And as I got older

That box never moved from its place

But a new one arose

This time filled with my clothes

With a new warning, now painted on

“This is all that you get”

It said in black scrawls

“And only take out what you wear”

So I wore the same clothes

Week in and week out

Until the gears turned in my head once again

I went out and shopped

For just a few pairs

Of pants and a couple nice shirts

I changed in my car

Put on new jewelry

And hid it all when I got home

These clothes stayed in my drawers

And when I left the house

It was always in clothes from the box

Now, I’ve grown up

And I’m flying the coop

And ripping my things from their boxes

They’re no longer stuck

And neither am I

The only boxes I need are for packing

But as I make my claim

In a world that’s my own

I notice a strange mesh around me

I scratch and I claw

But I just can’t escape

And I walk around covered in cardboard

This world called to me

So violently free

But now that I’ve entered its grasp

The box has returned

As big as can be

And wrapped me within its walls

I look back at pictures and messages from friends

And all of it serves to remind me

That while I’m alone

And this world can be kind

And everyone has good intentions

The box that I’m in just won’t go

And written upon it

Is a simple instruction

That tells me naught but who I am

“You are what we say

And you remain as you are

Your life and your meaning is ours”

So I stand in my room

Covered by the box

And I wonder, just who should I be?

But then I sit down

With my head in my hands

And I whisper, “That choice has been made.”

I HAVE ALL THE OFFICIAL MERCH NOW AAAHHHHHH

Happy pride month I’m drawing gay people till my hands hurt