I Am Strong

When you see this soft-spoken, shy girl sitting at her desk,

You see someone weak

As I quietly doodle away on my note-pad,

You see someone distracted

When every other girl giggles and laughs with her friends,

I stoop lower into my seat

To you, I am just a failure

To you, I am lazy and stupid

In your head, you know I will never amount to anything

But what if I am soft-spoken because at home, no one will listen to me?

What if I am shy because the pain is so strong, I don’t know how to deal with it?

What if my doodles are my escape from the horrors of my own life?

What if I am distracted because I am deep in thought about how mother is abused every night?

You would never know, though, would you?

Have you ever taken the time to think

That maybe the reason I stoop so low in my chair is because I am terrified at what will happen to me and my sister when we get home

Have you ever asked me?

Maybe I don’t laugh because I have nothing to laugh about

How could I laugh when all I ever see is tears?

I am not stupid

I am not lazy

I am not weak

But is people like you who make me think I am

People like you crush the smallest hope of mine that maybe, just maybe, someday I will achieve

I am strong

I will succeed

I will succeed to prove people like you wrong