I am color.
When I score the winning goal in the soccer game,
I am a sparkling yellow that is as bright as the sun!
Sometimes, I have a rough day,
And I feel like a despondent blue that is as dark as the night sky.
Other times,
I get as red as lava

It’s hard to find who I am.
I know this could take long.
What sets me and others apart?
Where do I choose to stand?
I want answers to appear like the bang of a gong.
Reaching down into my heart,
or searching up above.
Finally at last, I find a song.

When racial slurs are used against you
When people leave you out because of your skin color
When people look at you because of your skin
When you know you’re different
When someone spits at you because of your skin
When your own family won’t talk to you

I hate
being short
the feeling of being left out
how I have to say stuff in front of everyone
answering questions in front of people even though I know it
how I don’t know stuff
I hate
how sometimes,
I’m mean,
to some people and pets

You could be a picture
Of gleaming perfection.
Indeed, an orchestra,
Of human without sin.
The world at your whims,
Subject to your knees,
Yet you ask nothing of them,
For every person sees,
That you are perfect.

I am an ordinary school girl,
I have homework,
I have assignments,
I have essays,
and I have tests.

Talking with others
feeling so very different
never quite the same

Jokes at my expense
The others laughing so hard
Try and fail to smile

My smile is broken
Wanting to sprint far away
Please just be quiet

I am but a girl with scars,
Not those that are seen,
The kind buried beneath it all,
I am but a girl with a dream,
Like any other you will see,
I am unique,
But still like any other,
I’ve been thrown,
And hit,
And threatened,

There are so many, too many, humans in the world,
Who are silenced, forgotten, voices never heard.
We make snap judgments based on race,
Appearance, or simply the look of their face.
But each of these people in the world,
Has a story that needs to be heard.

Fear of not being good enough,
World with Judgment,
People knowing everything about you,
Mistakes talked about
being judged feelings pain
we are who we want to be
people can be different
wishing of Living
in a judgment free world.

I found myself
staring out of my bedroom
window,
my eyes followed the footsteps
of the strangers walking below me.

I am a story
my existence made for people to enjoy.
They skip over me
flip
flip
flip
to see only the things they want to see
not what they need to see.

I am a tree
tall and skinny
my roots run deep
and my leaves are big,
and grow up high.
Nearby are my family trees,
from which my seed came.
A bit further are my friends
of all shapes kinds and sizes.
My bark may be rough

Blondes are
Stupid
Popular
Ditsy
Un-athletic
Girly girls
Blonde is a label
Look at my personality
Look past my hair
Blonde is not me
I am
Smart
Athletic
Messy
Helpful
Nice
Labels are unfair

Hiding in the background.
Behind everything and everybody.
I’m missing something in me.

I wait at the end of the mat thinking those thoughts.
Thinking as hard as my brain would let me.
When I’m starting to run...

The wallflower sits and listens,
in the back of the classroom,
remembering each word spoken.

She never smiles,
never laughs,
has never shown emotion.

I am a perfectionist. Even a simple task will take me a long time to complete. I often overdo things and when something is not faultless, I will hate it. I never turn in a project that isn’t exactly the way I want it.

You see, I’ve been on both ends, the smile and the tear,
But still I stand after all of my years,
Perhaps a little wiser, maybe stronger too,
But I’m still nowhere close to what I’m meant to do.
And although I seem generous and incredibly kind,

I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t let go.
I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t let her true colors show.
The girl who hides her sadness as if she’s wearing a mask
And says that everything is fine.
The girl who pretends everything is sublime.

Who am I?
     I am a puzzle. A million words and thoughts and ideas, feelings that fit together.
     I can maybe identify some of them if
                              I look hard.
     Some I have no idea what they mean.
     Some are small, invisible.