Begin the Week with Words: A Poem

My students and I had a discussion on poetry. I came to the conclusion that I like to read and write it, but discussing it and teaching it gets tricky. Maybe because we aren't exposed to it enough?

But there were other thoughts to our discussion. There's something about deep emotion that draws the poetry out of people. If there's anything poetic within you, a deep moment of revelation will find it! Poets exist everywhere. There are the classic (Emily Dickinson), the well known modern (my favorite Tyler Knott Gregson), and the every day people nodding hello as you walk by. At its most heartfelt, even poetry that isn't well written touches on what it is to be human.

And so, poetry it is today. I present this particular poem because I can see it in my students' faces when they think no one is looking, in the moments of earnestness, and sometimes their actions. I present this particular poem because I think others can relate, even if only in the past or in random moments. As such, I present today's #SundaySentence, with the explanation for its inspiration:



"Saw a glimpse of two friends hugging today - it was sincere and without restraint, joyful and kind of like a dance. It was sweet, beautiful even, and I had a sudden sinking feeling that I am not that person. That I am intrinsically unable to be that friend, a friend someone enjoys the presence of without a doubt."

I'm not the girl people are naturally drawn to

I'm not the girl people think of randomly

I'm not the girl whose smile invites you in

I'm not the girl whose friends flock to her

I'm not the girl who finds her personality favorable

I'm not the girl who finds herself caught up in a hug, of either sadness or joy

I am a girl of restraint, of thought

I am a girl whose smile tries, whose effort is tired

I am a girl who wishes to feel free of herself, to feel needed, and enjoyed

I am a girl who longs to be who she wants to be, not who she is.