Today I’m at school and I try to remember
why it is I’m supposed to be here
Boys confuse my body for something they can own
The teachers are boring as s***
and don’t even bother to learn our names
I don’t bother with theirs.

But today
today I am grateful
I remember how much I like the smell
of freshly baked oatmeal cookies over mother’s touch
and the gentle thump of rain on the window
Today I look at myself in the mirror
and I smile at my flaws
It is the first time I have done that
Because today, I am not a feather
lost in the breeze or a piece of bread
that can be easily washed down with milk
Today I am big
I am proud of the heaviness with which I walk
Today my body is beautiful for no reason beyond itself
Today it is a home

I don’t start my questions with “Sorry” because I know
I don’t need to apologize for the sound of my voice
Today my voice is a song and I am not afraid of singing anymore
Today I will hypnotize the world with the fire in my eyes,
the sway of my hips, the unwavering sun that is my smile
Because today I don’t know the meaning of fear
Today I can look at myself beyond the labels on my clothes
Today my mind is not a poisonous labyrinth that screams of starvation,
today it is so much more

Today I thank my body for everything it is not
Not a forgotten playground
Not a silent tombstone
Not another’s
Not rotten
Not gone
Not yet