Bits and Pieces

Wallflower

wallflower

background to the noises

of the rest of the world

because maybe they seem

a little more important

than that which I need to sing

wallflower

I raise my voice

try to speak

but what words convey

what's building up inside?

a dam of cries cracked in half

create the barriers

I try to break through

struggling to be free

wallflower

because I'm unpopular

because I'm weird

because I'm advanced

because I write poetry

because I'm socially awkward

because all of these things

mesh into a sweet-sour dough

that leaves their breath bitter

as they breathe down my neck

but I see the things

they don't

I see their shifting sides

kaleidoscopes of confessions

and changes to be someone

they're not

I see the heights they will reach

to be perfect

to be ethereal

I know why they cry out in

pain at night

when the stars become blinding

and they wish they could be

as pure as the

moonlight

wallflower

why do you stay

on the sidelines of this

ever-changing game?

so attention can be

diverted

to others who drink it up

like butterfly nectar

but maybe things are

ever-changing too

and the places we return to

as the galaxies paint pictographs

on our bedsheets

can be true in the daylight as well

wallflowers too

can see themselves dancing

stepping into the sunlight

just for a moment

maybe one day us wallflowers

will become noticed

and truly have a time to shine

one day

but for now I stand in quiet seclusion

seeing into others before they see me

wishing 'pon a star from the sidelines