I see the world for what it really is—cold.

I've swallowed the truth with a smile,

To be kind is what I was told,

Even if you hurt for a while.

But in this chill, I feel the warmth of the sun,

Rising on the first day of change.

My struggles, they are not done,

But one day, they'll be worth the pain.

It radiates from the books I read,

The endless knowledge that flows.

The inky paper is a need,

Fluttering in the way the wind blows.

In the pencil in my hand, I find calm.

I speak without parting my lips.

The stories that I tell act as a balm

On my soul that was ripped to strips.

My nieces and nephew smiling at me,

And I cry and laugh in one instant,

Because I see them through a computer screen,

Because their parents hear but don't listen.

I'm proud to be who I am, because I am not blind.

I see the world for what it really is—cold.

Yet in the chill, I find the strength to be kind,

And I make the choices to be bold.

I look forward to having hands that soothe,

To being enough to help more than hurt.

Maybe one day I won't have to chose

If it's me or them lying in the dirt.

I laugh when I see my friends interact.

They're real when tears stream down their cheeks.

We forget, sometimes, laughter's impact,

With our noses in books for weeks.

We forget, sometimes, to look around and see,

How the world revolves and goes as we learn.

We'll be thrust into it with a resounding sense of clarity,

So bright that we'll almost burn.

In my solidarity, I think in loops about the past,

Revise mistakes and rewrite history in my mind.

Life is about making good moments last,

And leaving the bad memories behind.

I can see the world for what it really is—cold.

One day, I'll have given up on days gone by.

No matter what secrets the future will hold,

I'll always keep my head held up high.