You laugh at me behind closed doors and think I say too much in order to clothe myself in self-aggrandizement yet you see right through me or I think you do and I cry for regeneration because I can never be that person who cares less what others think and how can I assure you I don’t care without telling you I don’t care when the act of speaking such sentiments negates any truth of uncaringness and if I could counter the clock I would erase all traces of nonchalance lost and stick them in the recycle bin of your compartmentalization but they are there in thick tangibility forever implanted against your unwavering perfection and every word I speak delves me deeper into the pit yet I cannot close my mouth without knowing that you will still love me tomorrow.
Shannon Luders-Manuel has an essay published in Teaching Tolerance's Mix it Up website (www.mixitup.org) and will have a forthcoming article published in AmeriQuests. Visit her online at shannonluders.com