I'M REAL
In a classroom at Rondout Valley
I heard myself say my real name
with my real voice,
thanks to a voice coach
volunteering for "diversity week".
For me
high school was all about defiant tenderness --
love notes passed out to anyone whose name I knew
where I scrawled questions
to try and hear their real voice
through the thickness of survival tactics.
I hoped there was something real
under their old navy shirts.
I hoped I was a sacred fabric
that could polish gravel into crystals.
I hoped I could stay in a haven
where I felt so sure of my softness,
my specialness
in a hard, boring world.
I heard myself say my real name
with my real voice,
thanks to a voice coach
volunteering for "diversity week".
For me
high school was all about defiant tenderness --
love notes passed out to anyone whose name I knew
where I scrawled questions
to try and hear their real voice
through the thickness of survival tactics.
I hoped there was something real
under their old navy shirts.
I hoped I was a sacred fabric
that could polish gravel into crystals.
I hoped I could stay in a haven
where I felt so sure of my softness,
my specialness
in a hard, boring world.
This resonates so much! Defiant tenderness-- YES! Something our world needs more of.
ReplyDelete"I hoped I was a sacred fabric" is one of my favorite lines I've read!
ReplyDeleteHard boring world, yes - this is high school
ReplyDeleteYou are a sacred fabric. This inspires me to write about my memories of high school. Love the use of contrast in this poem. And imagery.
ReplyDelete