Have you ever felt like someone was trying reduce you, squash you, objectify you by turning you into a number or rating you on some arbitrary scale? I have before. I bet you have, too. You are NOT a number.
Here is a poem for you.
“You are Not”
You are not the number
Of times you have failed
Or your salary or your bank account
Or the number on the chart
Or the way you were rated
On that scale of something
Way back then or even today.
You are not your age
Or your height
Or your IQ
Or the number of times you’ve
Tried
Or the many other numbers
Anyone might try
To force on you
Or squash you into.
YOU
Are a brilliant, beautiful ball of magic
Who can always begin again
And work miracles.
Breathe…
Published by shellypruittjohnson
My name is Shelly Johnson, and I am a writer and philosopher with a Ph.D. in philosophy. One of my primary personal and philosophical interests is how we can learn to love ourselves and each other better in order to cultivate personal and political resilience. I teach ethics and a variety of other courses at a local college. I am the author of the blog Love is Stronger. I am also the author of three logic and critical thinking books for high school and middle school: _Argument Builder_, _Discovery of Deduction_ (co-author), and _Everyday Debate_, published by Classical Academic Press. You can reach me at shellypruittjohnson@gmail.com.
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Just beautiful!
Thank you so much, Roda!
Good poem. Did you write it?
Thanks, Mom! I did indeed write it.