By Julia Lima, TIWP Student

in a world full of
waterfalls and
neon skies and
endless fields,
why should the toxic words of a
teenage puppet
be the tyrant of my brain for hours on end?

in a world full of
fresh orange groves and
sacred ancient temples and
twinkling stars,
why should the standards of a
clueless teacher
be engraved in my mind over those of my own?

in a world full of
birds of a thousand colors and
mountains that touch the sky and
fruits that don’t have names,
why should i be locked up in a building where i work
in hopes to be able to work more when i’m free?

in a world full of
flowers that watch the sun and
oceans that keep secrets and
worms that bake in the soil,
why should i have to decide where i want to go in life
when i don’t even know what life is?

in a world full of
pink stained clouds and
lions who rule jungles and
thunder that stops the earth silent,
why should i worry
what other worried humans think of me?

in a world full of
poisonous words and
emotionless robots and
too-powerful machines and
evil money and
grassless cities,
why do i not choose
what i know is real?