He spins on a wheel

and makes your computer screen light up.

 

They say there's a battery, fluid chemicals,

so that when you press the button,

your car will start. 

 

They say there's a river. It pushes through

the dam like a horse at the starting gate

and lights your house,

 

But I'm different.

I don't have a mouse

or a battery

or a river

to make me go,

 

I have a brain

and a heart

and a soul,

 

But that is only a part of what makes me go.

I have the waves of Lake Michigan

beating against me,

molding my definition of beauty.

I have the hand of my sister,

clasped in mine,

guiding me through the tall grass. 

I have the streusel stuck in my teeth

from my Grandma's coffee cake, 

it's creamy filling telling me I am loved. 

 

This is me.

This is what makes me tick.