People ask me,
"Were you born here?"
And I want to say I was,
But this slight of my tongue,
This twist of speech betrays me.
A native loved one tells me,
When he sees the consternation
And despair plain on my face,
That it's only a lilt, not crippling, per se.
But how do I belong here
If I speak with the voice of there?
How do I pause the motion of this accursed pen
And set it scribbling instead from  right to left?
I laugh with them when they hear the way I say a word
And I try to say it the way that they do,
But my "ah"s are too drawn, my "l"s too conspicuous,
My "r"s are not deep enough, my "t"s are too reptilian,
Slippery like the tears I'd shed when they told me
I was writing my name wrong.
I knew no other place, and here I learned to hate,
But lately, for the past 5 years or so,
I've been ashamed of the thing that brands me-
אמריקאית, Amerika'it, American.

Blinking back a constant wave of tears,
Like trying to see the road on a rainy day
And smiling to avoid the things you need to say.
Swimming for the breakers, 'cause you don't care anymore,
But they always let you down and bring you back to shore.
Rest easy, baby, close your eyes,
You know it can't hurt if you're empty inside.
You're not at the top of the food chain if you're not there alone,
You don't need a mirror to tell you you've grown.
You never know what something's worth 'till it's almost taken,
With every headline and phone call you feel your heart breaking.
Never been so scared in your life and you know
That that's the thing that scares you the most.

You dream of that week sometimes, late at night.
You feel like a doll in a constellation of light
When you realize that you're only dreaming.
You're only dreaming, babe.
Breathe deep in the dark, count your fingers and toes,
Honest to God, only He knows
What's good enough to allow us to keep,
So live and let live and go back to sleep.

Words cut as sharp as knives,
Every dotted "i"
Stabs through the paper,
Right to the heart.

Time flies if you ask it to,
And shattered trust can mend.
Faith stretches like elastic,
Iron hearts can bend.

Invisible hands will carry loads-
As heavy as Atlas's globe,
Lives suspend on crystal love
And tiny threads of hope.

Coal can be taught to shine
As bright as Athena's eyes,
And no matter how far it is from shore,
The tide will always rise.

Right, left, full circles-
He was just ***** trained!
Negotiating
Only how long it will take
To get back to the start.

Deaf open minds,
"I'll do it if he does."
Would a lollipop make you feel better?

Science and progress
Vying with unchanging
Human nature
For position of
Kindergarten teacher.

Everyone know's they're right for sure.
They tell their friends,
"Go on, shut him up before he speaks!"
"You both say he started it? Time- out,
Both of you go talk it out
Over my teacher's table,
And if you **** each other
On your way there,
I'll look the other way."
After all, death in the name
Of righteousness is sacred,
And not to be mocked.
To teachers with 6/6 vision, sometimes
Blindness is a gift-
"There's no wrong, and no right.
Hug it out, avoid a fight."
(Kicking under the table.)
Hopefully, the explosion will miss her.

Where there are people,
There will be the same stories-
The world is a huge daycare center.

Red words in black ink,
Seductive kisses never leave
The lips of thorny roses,
Full bordeux mouth prints,
Desire for hell's angels
Unrequited, as is planned,
Pain is the ultimate man,
Hands don't approach,
Sight is as intimate as ***,
Whispers of agony,
Enjoyable as only love could be.