The Lion's Roar
Poems and Stories
Nothing/Something
by Katharine Chiu
To you, I am nothing but a girl
A nothing. I know nothing, I feel nothing, I am nothing.
I am here but I am nothing.
A nothing is not a great things to be.
A nothing cannot know, cannot feel, cannot be.
To me, I am something more than just a girl.
A something. I know things, I feel things, I am something.
I exist and I am something.
A something is a great thing to be.
A something can know, feel, be.
Being a nothing hurts.
Why do I know this, you may ask.
It is because once upon a time, I stopped knowing, stopped feeling, stopped being.
Nobody cares about how you feel if you are a nothing.
Nobody stops to see if you are okay, if you are hurt, if you are dying.
Being a something feels good.
Why do I know this, you may ask.
It is because once upon a time, I knew, I felt, I was.
Everyone cares about how you feel if you are a something.
Everyone stops to see if you are okay, if you are hurt, if you are dying.
But if everyone feels that a something is a nothing, what happens to that something?
A something starts to fade, starts to shrink, starts to hide.
A something stops knowing, stops feeling, stops being.
That something becomes a nothing.
That something disappears.
I am someone who wants to be a something.
I want to know, I want to feel, I want to be.
I want your respect, I want your love, I want your understanding I know that I will need to learn and grow to deserve your respect, your love and your understanding.
And I am learning, I am growing, and I am something.
Meetings Wednesday at 3:20 in room 111