Do you know who I am?
My name is Hayley.
I am glad to get to know you.

I am a woman.
Men don’t know who I am.
I don’t know who they are.

That is part of who I am.

I really like to love.
I love the ocean.
I love the beach.

I love to smile
I love to write poems.
I love to talk to my friends.

That is part of who I am.

People tell me that I am pretty
That is NOT part of who I am
Although it’s nice to look nice.

For people whom I love
Especially if they love me
I treat them as they’re beautiful.

That is part of who I am.

Most people still don’t know me.
Or if they know me, they don’t know
As much as they might like.

Because they might use it
To not like me so much
Or even try to hurt me.

That is part of who I am.

My life was almost snuffed out
When a mast hit me in the head
And knocked me into the ocean.

It was hard for them to rescue me
Hard for me to recover
But I went back on the ocean again.

That is part of who I am.

I love to make love with women.
I never make love with men.
Many people really hate that.

My dad’s wife really loathes it.
Since I am not like she is
We are so different anyway

That is part of who I am.

I can love a man who loves me
If he loves me from his heart
And accepts me for who I am.

That’s as far as I will take it
To accept him for who he is
It’s all I can do, but it’s enough.

That is part of who I am.

Some people say marriage for couples only.
I would marry one woman
If I knew, she would marry me

I really enjoy giving pleasure
I’d love to go to sleep in her arms
And wake up looking in her eyes.

That is part of who I am.

A few years back I fell in love
She fell in love with me.
It wasn’t perfect, but what is?

I know I made love to her.
I felt she made love to me.
I hoped romance would blossom.

That is part of who I am.

She was married to a man.
She had other girlfriends too.
Some of them wanted me.

For pleasure alone I could have been with them.
But I wanted her and her alone
To have the keys to my heart.

That is part of who I am.

She could not leave her husband.
Her romantic love could not be shifted.
She loved me dearly but not like that.

We ended our affair across the miles
Then I went out to my beach beside my ocean
To be totally by myself.

That is also part of who I am.

My friends knew I was gone.
They didn’t know where.
They talked to each other about me.

It wasn’t like almost drowning.
My lungs and my head will heal in time.
My heart has no such assurance.

That is part of who I am.

I went back to my friends.
I heard them tell me they loved me.
I loved them back.

Then I wrote a note to her
For when she woke up.
And slept, hoping for a brighter day.

That is part of who I am.

Do you know who I am?
Most likely you don’t.
There’s a lot I don’t know yet.

Do I know who you are?
I might love you.
We won’t know until we try.

Let’s find out who we are.