Misery’s up and down
the streets of my hometown
where I’ve never truly belonged.

I don’t know the boys who played cricket
in the park or the friendly couple
that sat on the bench at the railway station.

I’m scared of them,
of what they’ll do to me
of what they’ll think of me

that depends on whether
I’m able to show them
my originality.

I’ve never came home all sweaty
from a cricket game
I’ve never known how to play cricket.

I’ve never made a friend here.
All I’ve ever known is school,
and poetry.

My self-identity’s forged
by not mingling with these people
by never mingling with me.

All I wish for here
is to find a way
to sneak my hometown

into a better, future version of myself.