I Was Born With Horns by Valerie Parente

How dare you condemn my anatomy
when I was born with horns
it’s in my nature to have free will
what is mine is not yours.

How dare you make a mockery of me
when autonomy came with my birth
it’s in my DNA to choose how I live
what is personal is not discourse.

I decide what is right or wrong
for this body I’ve been squeezed into
that is not up for debate
if that makes me deviant
then innocence never existed in the first place.

– Valerie Parente (2-14-2026)