Survival

Poem by Zainab Hussain

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Is this survival,
or surrender?
 
My expressions, gait, and verbiage,
begrudgingly conform to the standards
of what is deemed the norm.
On paper, I am accomplished,
I am supposedly “going places”;
I am told I have great potential,
if I can sand off my rough edges.
 
But how much more can I hold back?
At what cost is my livelihood expanding?