Gali

Strange

Awkward

Confused

Talking

More

Talking

Friends

Fun

Weird

Late

Nights

Together

Why

So

Hard

To

Say

Emotions

Tangled

Pure

Within me there is an unrelinquished and defiant need to be beautiful.

The beauty that isn’t portrayed through someone who must see.

Nor even by lights set most dim.

My beauty isn’t spun or turned, 

You spend most of your childhood wanting to grow up. You dream of all the things you'll do, the people you'll meet, the freedom of a life where you are the captain of your own ship.

“I can make it hurt,”

My sister’s mouth uttered these words,

as she raised her pickle ball paddle to threaten my brother

My siblings have always had their moments,

where they would fight as if they were opponents

Four buzzes 

Wake me up, 

Loud in the quiet 

Dark. 

A seconds-long debate 

In my head 

My name is Amelia.  

I am 17 years old 

And I am afraid for my future. 

I am tired of old men 

Deciding how I will live,  

Determining the world in which