I’m not who you want me to be.
(You overinvested in the illusion of meek)
All this time, you thought I was free.
I waited and waited for you to see,
but you never bothered to take a peek.
I’m not who you want me to be.
Although you cut me off at the knees,
I never allowed myself to appear weak.
All this time, you thought I was free
I know that you hate being weaker than me,
that you hold your tongue when they call me a freak.
I’m not who you want me to be.
I know how you are, stubborn as a tree.
I know what your branches and your roots seek.
All this time, you thought I was free.
I’m standing my ground, refusing to flee.
(No one can stop the truth I will speak.)
I’m not who you want me to be;
All this time, you thought I was free.
About the Creator
Harper Lewis
I'm a weirdo nerd who’s extremely subversive. I like rocks, incense, and all kinds of witchy stuff. Intrusive rhyme bothers me.
I’m known as Dena Brown to the revenuers and pollsters.
MA English literature, College of Charleston
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Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
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Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
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Writing reflected the title & theme
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If I were asked to remark on my life and the childhood that paved some road leading me to this point, I would have to say something about all the funny people who surrounded me for the last 26,872 days (and counting). Somewhere along that road, I became a big fan of laughter and the comedy that spawns it – and, I mean not only my own laughter, but the laughter of others, some of which I have actually been responsible for inducing.
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Comments (2)
I love the conviction here.
Harper - I think you already know the title immediately grabbed me. 💬✨ 'You overinvested in the illusion of meek' damn. I never thought a line would shock me this much. But this one did. - I am not who you want me to be. This line really is great as a repeating voice and tone in your poem. I feel a sort of heaviness. A thing hovering over me. Which makes me want to keep reading. 💬✨ I know that you hate being weaker than me 💀 the offence would definitely, hit hard, here. - stubborn as a tree. Love the out of the box, original line — keen attention to detail here. 💬✨ No one can stop the truth I will speak. I hear it loud and clear and no one has stopped you. Amazing, absolutely amazing as always Harper. Lovely to see you try the villanelle. You did an amazing job. The claws of the villanelle is now, very dull, when it turned to you 🤗❤️🖤👏🏾👌🏾