A compass needle on fractured glass,
Pulled by truths and doubts
in endless tug-of-war.
I spin, I halt, I quiver -
A restless seeker of certainty,
finding none.
My value: a currency of volatile exchange rates,
Inflating and deflating
with each interaction.
I am both bull and bear market,
Rising and falling,
but always trading.
Worthy: from Old English 'wyrþig'- deserving.
As if deserving were a coat I could wear,
Tailored to fit society's expectations,
Always one size too small.
"But you're so strong," they say,
As if strength were the admission fee
To the carnival of normalcy,
A ticket to belonging.
I wear my differences like mismatched socks,
Proudly uneven,
defiantly visible.
In mirrors, I search for reflections
Of a self I'm told
I should be.
Acceptance: a mosaic of disjointed pieces,
My patchwork of being.
A worth measured in units I'm still learning to calculate,
Not in dollars,
not in likes or shares,
But in breaths taken,
in shadows faced.
Some days, my confidence roars,
Other days, a mouse-
quiet,
hidden,
but still alive.
I am both the scales and the weight,
The beholder and the gem,
Constantly reassessing,
forever recalibrating.
They say, "Just be yourself."
I say, "I am-
All my selves,
a universe of identities
Contained in one divergent form."
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Beyond Your Labels | Poems
PoetryThis collection is for anyone who has ever felt out of step with the world, for those who find power in perseverance. These poems are the words I couldn't speak, the feelings I couldn't express, now given life on paper.
