i'm from a small, yellow bedroom
yellow flowers, yellow layette
and yellow jaundiced skin  
i'm from the taste of the tea mother makes me when i'm sick
and from the sound of her singing
about how she looked and looked for the light
like the roots and the leaves floating in the boiling water
her voice a soothing sound
like bubbles in simmering tea

i'm from words written on a page-
the feeling of an old book and the smell of a new one
and i'm from hiding beneath the covers
falling in love with black letters printed on white paper
i'm from lots of illustrations and then none at all
when my mind became colorful enough to fill all the pages
i'm from "the game is afoot"
and "after all this time?"

i'm from all over the world
pieces of my heart, a jigsaw puzzle
like my family scattered all over the globe
i'm from canada, from the US, from france from lebanon from italy
i'm from a country nobody wants
but a country that desperately wants us back

i'm from messy hair, oversized sweaters
half-finished sketchbooks filled with promises
and ******* poetry lines
i'm from the echo of my own voice
against the splatter of the shower
i'm from reading in the flashes of street lamp lights
i'm from pursuing science and desiring art
drawing on the airplane's foggy windows
and wondering how it flies
with a clear head and with clouded eyes.

There lives an old lady that looks a bit shady
Who came to my house all alone.
One day she crept in - maybe I let her in?
I locked the front door, that's for sure.

She was awfully frail, and smelled a bit stale,
And she glared with disdain and complained.
She made me stay home so she wouldn't be alone
While she groaned at the ache in her bone.

The days dragged on but she wouldn't be gone
She's still here - as we speak - in my chair.
I could kick her out but she'd probably shout
You should hide if you're on her bad side.

I've tried "go away" but she's decided to stay
Taking over my life without strife.
I want to be free, but she lives inside me
You see, that old lady is me.

stop looking
in the mirror
at your imperfections

don't look at your
acne scars
or if you don't
like your nose
or the color
of your eyes

but let's look
at that breathtaking
smile you have,
the amazing
personality you
have

and how
special you
are because
you are different
from everyone else

I fashioned a heart dark and bold,
One that never grows old,
One that withstood all degrees of cold.

A heart that was daring and never fearing,
One snaring and never caring.

One so solid, it was unbreakable,
One so steady, it was unshakable.

I fashioned a heart of darkness made for chaos,
One of pure blackness made so heinous.

I fashioned a heart so dark, it showed no spark,
One so bleak, it would never feel.
A heart so dull, it would never fall,
One so evil, it could never feel.

And glad I was,
For what I once had was so nice, it told no lies,
And so frail, it was bound to fail.