My Silence

Nine years, Spent silently thinking About everything and anything. Best friends one day, Alone the next, Reading novels at age seven. Getting kicked in the shin, The basketball stolen, And I can’t fight back. I dare not speak a word. Why can’t I? What would happen if I did? Slowly I make progress, I can talk in private With my friends. Others come up to me, Can I talk? They ask. Of course I can, I think, and walk away. I’m just shy, My few friends think, But there’s more to it than that. Anxiety got the better of me. I found out in seventh grade. That’s why I went to a mental health clinic. I’m fine now. I still struggle in presentations, And public speaking will never happen. Those nine years, Were a struggle, but I managed, And I am who I am because of them.