A flipped leaf A fresh slate So difficult to come by So easily missed But I don’t want to start over No, I’m sick of looking in the mirror And fighting what I see Because you keep telling me who I’m supposed to be I’ve been struggling with who I’ve been But I think I’m finally becoming who I am You may not like my clothes You may hate my hair But you have to admit At least I keep trying Because I think that there must be more to this life Than the stereotypes of older minds I am more than the shoes I wear, The brands I buy, The way my hair falls in my eyes There is more beneath the surface A chance is all I ask for I’m smarter than I look I care more than I let the world know You ask for my feelings But we just end up on opposite sides I don’t want to fight you anymore I acknowledge my defeat And I give you my rage--boiling, stinging, Howling at the world to change My fear--biting, chilling, Paralyzing my lungs from crying out in pain My tears--choking, drowning, Weighing me down like concrete shoes Because I don’t know who to choose Me or you. It is all rising within me, An itch I can’t scratch TilI just want to roll in the dirt like a dog Or to flee on the wings of the wind To escape the feelings But I’m not running anymore And I’m not going to turn to the comfort of the glass bottles filled with lost hopes, Suppressed dreams, and forgotten nights. No, I’m not going to become one who injects themselves with borrowed hope and pride That bring them so high that they don’t realize how far down they truly are No, instead I turn to the pen, The sharpest sword ever forged And the blank page, The last frontier never to be conquered, And I plunge head first into the well of words In my secluded mind To bring to light My heart Hidden away Locked up in a tower To protect it from thieves And misleading princes Who may have good intentions That simply aren’t right for me Here, brought to light for you So that you may begin to understand That I may not have much to my name But my past is making me who I am And my future may not be that yellow brick road of old But it is in front of my feet and I am walking forward If you want to join me It is your choice But know that I have to go With or without you I am no longer that little girl who needed you to tie her shoes But that doesn’t mean I still don’t need you Just stand by my side Hold my hand in hard times And love me unconditionally Through thick and thin Light and dark Anger and joy Death and life. All you have to do is take my outstretched hand And step onto my path Wherever it may lead. ***