They looked at me & saw too little,
Because I spoke with silence, not with sound,
They thought me weak, a quiet riddle,
But never saw the strength I'd found.
They whispered why I walked the room,
Gave sideways glances, crooked grins,
As if their noise could drown my bloom,
As if their pride erased my wins.
They called me less & laughed with ease,
Because I didn't fit their mold,
But I'm the calm within the breeze,
The ember that survives the cold.
I don't wear masks, don't chase their race,
I move with care, not false delight,
They mock the softness on my face,
But I was never made to fight
The way they do with egos blade,
I fight with truth, with heart, with grace.
I've been the scapegoat, overlooked
The girl they tried to twist & bend,
But every bruise they ever cooked,
Just made me truer in the end.
So let them talk & roll their eyes,
Let them brag and laugh and glare,
I'll stand beneath the judgement skies,
Still me, still rising, still rare.

They made me feel too small to stand,
Too quiet for a voice to land,
They spoke in crowds, I stood alone,
But silence has a weight of stone.
They saw a mirror they couldn't face,
So they dressed it up in blame and grace.
But I have wounds they'll never earn,
And lessons they refuse to learn.
They laughed while I stayed out of sight,
But envy hides in masks of spite,
I never needed flashing lights,
To know my heart was burning bright.
They only saw what they could judge,
But I don't move for their applause,
They curse the things they can't control,
Like depth, or softness, or a soul.
So let them gawk, & twist, & turn,
Let them talk while I still burn,
I'm not the girl they tried to bend,
I'm not for them,
I never was,
And I won't pretend.

You don't deserve me,
If you treat me poor,
You don't deserve me,
When you make my heart sore,
You don't deserve me,
If you make me feel like less,
You don't deserve me,
If you treat me like a test.
You don't deserve me,
If you get joy out of my pain,
You don't deserve me,
And don't you dare complain.
If I treated you well,
And still you treated me bad,
You're not worthy,
And I deserve better than that.

No words could relay,
What my hearts wants to
say.
Except, "𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖."
Don't leave, just stay.

We all want to be U n I q u e,
while still following the crowd,

don't be afraid to stand out,
don't be afraid to get LOUD.

This morning, out my windowsill
was a vibrant cardinal resting tranquil and still,
sitting on a limb with solace and halcyon calm,
singing a soothingly mellifluous song,
all of a sudden, emotions flooded upon me,
a nostalgic moment, from when I was young,
years upon years ago,
my grandmothers making breakfast,
my grandfather, reading the paper across from me,
in good health, laughing,
we're both content as can be,
there, just for a moment, we're together again
every time I see a cardinal now, I think of him
my own warm, sweet memories
from a simpler time, now intertwined