I grew up believing that
I should be seen and not heard.
I always felt like a decoration,
A wall flower,
Staring out at the sea of faces.
Speak politely and give nonexistent answers,
Smile and keep your eyes down.
I represented my parents' integrity,
So I kept my head down,
With my ribbons and curls
and was always the good little girl.
A trophy of good breeding.
But it's a lonely existence,
To sit on a shelf and collect dust.

When I was a child,
I asked my father,
"Why do the seasons change?"
and he told me about the world turning,
and that was how it is.
He didn't really understand.
I wanted to know why;
why the snow never lasted,
why the leaves always fell,
why the sun never stayed?
I couldn't understand
why nothing ever lasted.

He had forgotten
how to love,
But she blew away
the dust that had gathered,
With single breath
and a smile on her lips.

Do you think that
Adam and Eve's
betrayal made god
sorry he created them?

When you see a plane,
What do you think?
Do you wonder where
it is returning from?

Does the rain remind you
of the other nights it rained?

What does it mean to love?
What does it mean to live?

*Just who are you?