Surrounded
By friends,
Family,
Strangers,
All pretending to care.

But no one gets it.
I don't play.
I don't dance.
I don't sing.
I'm not a toy.

Best friends,
Closest advisers,
Teachers,
Parents,
All confused.

Why don't I
Go out?
Call someone?
Go to a party?
Talk to people?

Why should I?
It's not fun.
It's loud,
Dangerous,
Terrifying.

No one thinks
Like I do.
I don't like sports,
Or people being hurt,
And I hate attention.

They think I do this
To get back at them
Because I'm weird
Because I'm a loner
To be rebellious.

But that's not it.
I'm a stranger
To all of them.
I hide between the
Pages of books.

By myself
I am loud,
Happy,
Free,
Complete.

Surrounded
I am scared,
Confused,
Trapped,
And lonely.

Yet they don't get it.
They make me
Go out,
Talk to people,
Have fun.

What is fun about
Being talked about,
Being overly polite,
Feeling the need to run,
And feeling like an outsider.

I would rather be
All alone
And complete.
Rather than surrounded
And lonely.