The Mask
Or when there's something on your back everyone knows but no one can see. (Yes, this is Doctor Who-inspired.)
How long did you wait for someone to notice
that the something on your back wasn’t
the backpack full of A's
and
it wasn’t just Mondays
making you quiet intense quite tense.
Before you learn “99 times 100”
you can count the times you felt
the something
scrambling your brain and oops you said the wrong thing again
or
somehow worse
said nothing at all.
How long did you look for someone else to stumble from a weight on their back
not just
so many white and not many black shy
but
so many questions
why “How are you” not “Hello”
why not move but sit?
Before your age was double-digit
glancing sideways to see
you learn
the right words to say
or
even better
to say nothing at all.
How long did you train to carry the weight on your back
to go far
farther than They feel you can
Ready
mirror practice
Set
eyes up not down
big smile not frown
Go
Before the turning of the tassel
gathering book clues to be
a new you
even worse
to not be you at all.