Clamor
They threw stones at her
Hurled insults they
Knew would stick
Sticks and stones
Broke her bones
And words were ever hurting
She grew gray
And sat alone
On the playground
Underneath a foggy sky
The swing set groaning
With their shared pain
The voices of the clamor
Grew into the voices
She no longer had to
Strain to hear
Above the din,
She heard at last
A whisper
A tiny whisper she
Would have ignored
Had it not been for its message
‘Fight, hope, survive!’
It would speak
She listened
With her heart
And became the girl
Who stood apart
On purpose
That walked with her own
Message of power
She became pure sunshine
To the foggy school
And no one could
Stop her glow
For she burned
From within
With the message she was
Willing to hear
Above the clamor
She heard the truth
In a whisper