english,

Literary: Undefined

4/07/2017 08:17:00 PM Media Center 0 Comments

I grew up summing up the marks
On pristine, white cards,
Printed and unyielding.
My grades were auctioneers
And I deemed them adept at
Placing value on my being,
As if my merit could be bought
For so little a price
That I now know
Is barely half of who I am.

I grew up staring at figures
On flimsy, blue covers,
Encircled in red and unchanging.
My averages were traders
And I deemed them fit of
Appraising my value
As if my life could be sold
With hardly any tariff
That I now know
Was a cruel bargain for me.

I grew up counting the numbers
On loose sheets of paper,
Inked and enduring.
My scores were connoisseurs
And I deemed them capable of
Belittling my qualities
As if my features could be quantified
By a measly penalty
That I now know
Isn’t even a fraction of my worth.

I grew up thinking
That these figures
Were the things that gave me worth
But when I finally took it upon myself
To let the numbers be just numbers
I found out
That my worth
Could not
And should not
Be counted.