They called me strange, they called me weak

They pushed and mocked, they turned me down

They laughed at my silence, my wayward stare

Called me names like I wasn't there

They turned my smile into a frown.

 

Lunchtime whispers, always alone a seat apart.

Every hallway felt like pins

Dodging laughter and their bracing jeers.

I was the echo no one heard—

Too soft, too out of place.

 

I was a duck amongst wolves,

Trying so hard to make it through.

But they said I'd never fit their mold.

Thus, books became my only friend.

 

Now grown up, but still I feel

That shame, that doubt—it lingers still.

The childhood ghosts didn't fade with time.

I flinch when voices call,

Second-guess every glance.

The past still whispers in my ear

These wounds that only I will know.

 

But odd ducks learn to wade upstream 

They learn to find their way, their kind.

And though my past still leaves a mark,

I wear these feathers like a crown

For I am more than just a faded scar

I'll walk ahead despite the pain