I am the schoolgirl in the playground,
begging someone to play with me,
only to have my bag decorated with spit.
Treated like an outcast.

I am the girl you see in a crowd,
with no friend in sight,
loneliness her companion.
The world passing her by.

I am the girl you think a weirdo,
a freak of nature cloaked in costumes,
trying to fit in with the cool kids,
only for that not to be enough.

Is anything enough for the cool kids?
To shed one’s skin of originality
for the sake of pleasing them?
If only it were that easy.

I am the girl with the scars,
inflicted by perpetuated pain.
One trying to make sense
of the changing times.

But I am a dreaming goddess,
reaching for the stars.
Passion in her blood,
a fighter within her soul.

Editor: Shannon Hensley