September 4th, 2020
And I Stand
You can tell me your sharp words,
Tie me to your bitter heart,
But I am no more of yours,
Because I’ll stand.
Drag me down with profanity,
Please, bless me with your sanctity
Note that I can’t keep up with you,
Because maybe, one day, I’ll stand.
Called by many names,
Referred me as a stereotype,
But as I told you,
I will stand.
Why, does everything I do upset you?
Do you want me to cry?
Oh, but the tears and stained cheeks won’t come,
Instead, broken faces will lie.
From the mouth I was born with,
My words will make yours deflated
Kill ‘em with kindness I say,
Beat my heart again with agony forsaken.
Again, do my actions scare you?
With tense shoulders and bewildered eyes?
Though I never told you,
Who are you to judge with such haughty lies?
Sticks and stones
You’ve heard that before
Broken a bone,
The wound’s already filled with remorse.
Apologies if I don’t look like you,
Perhaps I am a different race to be considered ‘right’ by you
Don’t tell me to leave,
I’m not history’s shame.
You will scare me with your actions,
Don’t give me any of your other distractions
You will tug me with your misunderstanding,
But I won’t be there to be too demanding
Because by then, I will be standing.
Sophia Lee is a high school senior living in California. She is in her school’s Creative Writing program and loves to write pieces that center around personal issues, differing perspectives, and emotions. Her pieces aim to impact and educate as well as bringing something new to the world of writing. Besides writing, she loves to read, play violin, and occasionally bake.
Sophia wrote this piece when she had just transferred high schools in the second semester of her freshman year. She had transferred because people were making fun of her ethnicity and the effects of that translated into her writing. The pieces represents a version of Sophia that tells people that she is going to continuously stand no matter what hurdles are thrown at her, including remarks about her ethnicity, her appearance, etc.