5 We used to stay inside for recess Because outside was worse Outside we’d have to rehearse running away Or learn to stay still like statues giving no clues that we were there In grade five they taped a sign to her desk That read beware of dog 6 To this day Despite a loving husband She doesn’t think she’s beautiful Because of a birthmark That takes up a little less than half of her face Kids used to say she looks like a wrong answer That someone tried to erase But couldn’t quite get the job done 7 And they’ll never understand That she’s raising two kids Whose definition of beauty Begins with the word mom Because they see her heart Before they see her skin Because she’s only ever always been amazing 8 He Was a broken branch Grafted onto a different family tree Adopted Not because his parents opted for a different destiny He was three when he became a mixed drink Of one part left alone And two parts tragedy Started therapy in 8th grade

Had a personality made up of tests and pills Lived like the uphills were mountains 9 And the downhills were cliffs Four fifths suicidal A tidal wave of antidepressants And an adolescence of being called popper One part because of the pills Ninety nine parts because of the cruelty He tried to kill himself in grade ten When a kid who could still go home to mom and dad Had the audacity to tell him “get over it” as if depression Is something that can be remedied By any of the contents found in a first aid kit 10 To this day He is a stick of TNT lit from both ends Could describe to you in detail the way the sky bends In the moments before it’s about to fall And despite an army of friends Who all call him an inspiration He remains a conversation piece between people Who can’t understand Sometimes becoming drug free Has less to do with addiction And more to do with sanity

11 We weren’t the only kids who grew up this way To this day Kids are still being called names The classics were Hey stupid Hey spaz Seems like each school has an arsenal of names Getting updated every year 12 And if a kid breaks in a school And no one around chooses to hear Do they make a sound? Are they just the background noise Of a soundtrack stuck on repeat When people say things like Kids can be cruel? 13 Every school was a big top circus tent And the pecking order went From acrobats to lion tamers From clowns to carnies All of these were miles ahead of who we were We were freaks Lobster claw boys and bearded ladies Oddities 14 Juggling depression and loneliness playing solitaire spin the bottle Trying to kiss the wounded parts of ourselves and heal But at night While the others slept We kept walking the tightrope It was practice And yes Some of us fell

15 But I want to tell them That all of this shit Is just debris Leftover when we finally decide to smash all the things we thought We used to be And if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself Get a better mirror Look a little closer Stare a little longer 16 Because there’s something inside you That made you keep trying Despite everyone who told you to quit You built a cast around your broken heart And signed it yourself You signed it “They were wrong” 17 Because maybe you didn’t belong to a group or a clique Maybe they decided to pick you last for basketball or everything Maybe you used to bring bruises and broken teeth To show and tell but never told Because how can you hold your ground If everyone around you wants to bury you beneath it You have to believe that they were wrong They have to be wrong Why else would we still be here?

18 We grew up learning to cheer on the underdog Because we see ourselves in them We stem from a root planted in the belief That we are not what we were called We are not abandoned cars stalled out and Sitting empty on a highway And if in some way we are Don’t worry We only got out to walk and get gas We are graduating members from the class of **** Off We Made It Not the faded echoes of voices crying out Names will never hurt me 19 Of course They did mine But our lives will only ever always Continue to be A balancing act That has less to do with pain And more to do with beauty...

(ignore the mine in 19, i accidentally copied it off of the page i got the thing from)

15 is taken

16,1,2 and 6 are taken uwu

YES YOU MAY!

ok! if you wanna choose another part when your done feel free to ^^

yes!

yep ^^

OK

OK