Outdoor writing contest winner: Nature’s Love

I am crying, but why?

Because, under this husk,

I am not as composed as I look.

Because, underneath this façade, I am lost.

As lost as anyone,

As lost as the person next to you, or maybe not.

But here, under the starry sky with the forest that surrounds me,

I am free, I am found.

Here, I am not seen as a skin color,

I am seen for who I am.

Here, I am not seen as a gender,

Or as a sexuality

Here, I don’t have to fit social standards.

Here, I am loved.

The trees do not judge me.

In society’s eyes I am no one,

But here, I am important and accepted.

The stars do not see me as unfit.

They don’t judge my past mistakes,

They don’t see me for who I am not.

The ground lets me lay upon it,

I don’t have to worry about being let down,

I can trust it to not let me fall.

The air wraps me in a hug,

It tells me everything will be all right,

It provides me with the strength I need.

What would I be without these human emotions?

Maybe it isn’t about them,

But instead, about how to help those around me,

The people with the same feelings.

To be the trees, the stars, the ground, the air for others.

I will leave now, no longer crying,

But with the strength to stand,

And the ability to love, as did the nature around me.