3rd Ilana Mohamed, “My Truth”

My Truth

Why are you so opposed to completing the work that’s assigned Maybe it’s because I’m trapped in mind Constantly cycling over and over A voice whispering words into my ears, has me looking over my shoulder Why aren’t you successful You shouldn’t find this stressful Why can’t you be better An ambitious goal setter Anything, anyone would be worth more than you There’s nothing you can even do Right Well I suppose I can write Your a coward You pour your words onto paper Because you can’t speak the truth in real life you’re a faker And what good are your words haphazardly mixed together Anyone and everyone can write better, than you I try everyday to convince myself that it’s not true That I am worth something But it’s not an easy thing to do Especially when the words I hear from the people near supposedly dear Drag me down so low that I am brought to the ground Even now when I speak I’m afraid I won’t make a sound Words like anchors Keeping me from the sky It’s even worse when it’s an authority figure I guess I figured that you of all people would try and help me rise However, adults like all humans feel the need to characterize Rather than seeing me as a human with a name You treated me as though I were a mess of a person who was always to blame I suppose I should thank you after all Because you along with the many others are the reason I now stand tall Able to utter the words that once couldn’t escape my lips Now I feel powerful from my head to the tips Of my toes Where hopelessness once filled my body there now only the fire of defiance The joy that comes with self reliance And the strength to battle on another day To fight the tide of darkness and to speak about the struggles I’ve never known how to convey So that others too may find the hope And will be able to cope Until they feel free and are able fly