"I'M ME"

—Charmagne Manuel

Silent, assertive and utterly frank

yes, I am born that way

Nobody could change me now

Nor dictate me as to who I should be

God gives me my own identity

Why should I care to hide it?

I'm me and that's all that matters

I'm not a shadow of anybody.

Please try listening to my side

or else you'd never understand

I couldn't afford to mean one word

and yet say another

Don't you know it really hurts to hear you say

That I should try acting to be this way

I'm not the world's greatest actress you know

So don't try treating me as one

Friend, this is just a short note

To tell how I feel

I'm not a photocopy and never will be

Won't you try treating me as I am?

Poetry