shadowed

She got a sun-glow, sidewalk’s her runway, I’m a silhouette trailing her highlight parade, Teachers say “Why can’t you bloom in the same bouquet?” But roses got thorns, and I’m more subtle in the shade. Momma says “Look at her, medals on her chest— Why you writing poems while she’s passing every test?” She’s the gold star, perfect teeth, magazine type, I’m the scribbled margin, half-shadow, half-hype. Mirror on the wall, do you see me at all? Or just echoes of her, paper-cut small? Feelin’ like a whisper in her victory call, But if second is a shadow, I’m the dusk before fall. We share secrets in code, laugh in stereo tones, But my dreams feel minor when they’re set against her throne. She walks in, room spins, spotlight confesses— I’m left rehearsing lines, hiding nervous in the edges. They say “You should be like her, catch her reflection— Trade my vision for a mask, mirror her perfection.” But I got wild notes in my quiet refrain, A storm brewing soft—she got sun, I got rain. Mirror on the wall, do you see me at all? Or just echoes of her, paper-cut small? Feelin’ like a whisper in her victory call, But if second is a shadow, I’m the dusk before fall. Maybe I’ll never be the name in their cheer, But I’m writing my verse in invisible ink, clear. Let the world chase halos, their carbon copy dreams— I’m worth more than gold, in the silver between. Shadow’s not empty, it’s where cool secrets sleep, If I’m second in line, I’m the promise she keeps. Let her have the headlines, I’ll savor the rest— Every light needs a darkness; every best needs a next.