Pride
By Christina Cruz

And I whisper to the stars and wonder
what it’d be like to be the king of the jungle.
However, I am more Daniel in the lion’s den.

I wish to pull power in each step.
I wish to be sleek and pristine.
I wish to be confident.
I am no Leo.

Maybe I was delusional to think that we were more than a team.
They are like hunters and I am the prey.
I must be wary when surrounded by their presence.
Every move has to be precalculated or else it might be my last.

Instead of presenting my distress
I become submissive and
contain my emotion.

Until I am alone that is when
my roars of anger escape me
for concealing my core.

After a full year nothing has changed.
Too tired of trying to claw a wall that blocks my entrance even though,
all I want is to be let in
to a world that continues to shut me out.