Who I Am

At school –

I try hard

Ask questions

Retake failed tests

Ask more questions

Participate

Socialize with peers

Say the right things

Do the right things

Be the right person

At home –

I am the perfect daughter

Wash dishes

Pose for the Christmas card

Fold laundry

Shovel the driveway

Babysit the neighbors

Say the right things

Do the right things

Be the right person

At night –

I am myself

I journal for hours

Scrawling on the wall

The wall hidden in my closet

Behind my Sunday dresses

Where I puff and puff from

My newspaper joints

I confront my monsters

Head on with my pen

Nails scratch at the paint

But nobody hears

Nobody suspects a thing.