1-15-17 The Zebra

 •the zebra• 

I'll never be like them 

The way they dress, the way they talk, the things they do

I'll never do any of it 

I am a zebra amongst horses 

An outlier on a graph 

A leafless tree in the summer

I bloom blue instead of green 

My clock spins backwards 

I have lavender eyes and yellow blood 

I communicate with a pencil instead of a tongue 

I cannot see road signs 

Red means go and green means stop 

I am not unique, I am different 

I've been taught to only paint in black and white 

The acrylic colors under my finger nails are drained from me 

Stories become my own fantasy 

I could fill books with my mistakes 

I'll pick up my finger instead of a paint brush and I am thrown out of the classroom

The teacher says I am not like other students 

I tell her I am a zebra 

She pats me in the back and sends me back into the classroom

I glance around the room and imagine a zoo

But I am the only attraction 

Thy laugh and point at my stripes 

If only I could dance in the savannah 

No longer looking through separated metal bars "I'll never be like them" I say

In fact it is my biggest fear 

To slowly turn into them

Red eyes and fake hair 

Walking like zombies 

Slipping into a lovely madness 

This is why I write, to remind myself I do not think like they do 

Oh what a fake reality they've been taught

I know what is true 

I am reminded every time I look in the mirror 

When I look at my hands 

The small wedges in my palms 

The dark circles under my eyes

I know where the truth lies 

Its the only thing I am able to hold onto 

The only thing I can swallow 

But the only thing hard to say