I hide under these pages
cover my chest with words
cut my hair with sharp metaphors
change my name through poetry.
I only exist truly through similes
for I face misconception with
daily language, not my usual
unbridled haikus.
I see myself in the mirror
and see not the daughter
my parents are proud of
but an aching, gaping silhouette
I can\'t make out the shape of.
I’m unsettled by my own voice
by the way my body looks recently
by the way people call me
and the way my name feels detached.
It’s drowning out my laughter
making my poems full of ache
but it’s not something I can change
without putting a bullseye
on my forehead.
I crave acceptance
I hunger for love
because I cannot control this
who would wish such ache
upon themselves?
The way sea foam marks the waves
I fear someone will notice
The salt in the ocean I am
And start to wonder
If I’m truly who I say to be.