I am your daughter
I am your sister
I am your cousin
I am you
I did not grow up in an unstable home
I do not have parents I cannot talk to
I get good grades
I do not drink
I do not do drugs
I do not cut myself
I am a virgin
I am the perfect girl-child

On the outside
Have you seen my inside?
Have you seen the scars where I have scratched myself until I bled?
Have you seen the pool of water from the tears that fall from the inside of my eyes?
Have you seen the holes, one for every time I threw my lunch away?
Have you seen the shredded pictures of people I no longer trust?
Have you seen the curtain I can pull behind my eyes when I don’t want you to see my soul?
You have not.
You don’t know.
You do not understand.
You tell me about poor, imperfect girl-children

The opposite of me

Who do all the things I do not do

And tell me you are glad I’m not like them
But I am just like them
I do all the same things
I hurt myself in all the same ways
I just don’t tell a soul