second generation

person holding clear glass ball
Photo by Nizam Abdul Latheef on Pexels.com

i can hold my own in a conversation not in my language
because i’ve learnt it, piecemeal, in response to demand

but wait – it could have been my language all along, right
and the fact that it isn’t
is the fault of experiences that even with good reason,
just don’t seem to quite line up

it’s amazing how wrong you can feel
about your life that is supposedly so right
and how you are a different person in each of your circles
so that no one will know the many ways in which you don’t fit in

it’s both maddening and heartbreaking to know
that you’ll never be good enough
for the people you supposedly resemble the most

averaged

blur calm waters dawn daylight
Photo by Gabriela Palai on Pexels.com

i don’t recognize my life anymore, it’s living itself

there isn’t a place i can rest my head that feels like my home —
maybe that was a concept only for childhood

~

i’m like tempered glass, i can take anything and never break,
but i feel nothing either

~

my highs and my lows have been averaged out
to a near-constant forbearance

~

i don’t know if i’m stronger for keeping it together
or stronger if i’d let myself unravel

~

it makes me happy to make you happy
but i don’t know who i am anymore
or if i should strive to be anyone at all