I sit here on the floor,

Listening as the cars fly by,

Watching as the letters find their way

Onto the screen.


I am one of the shyest in my class,

Finding any excuse to not have to speak.

Each time I wonder what I could have said

Or how I would have said it.

The words would stumble out while I talked,

Some not able to right themselves.


I sit here on the floor,

Staring out at the trees,

Listening to the sound

As the wind glides through their branches.


Each time I find myself in a class room,

Hearing the silence that surrounds me

As my classmates wait to hear me speak.

Inside, I would be fighting with myself,

Wondering how to say what I feel.


I sit here on the floor,

Smelling the dinner that awaits me in the kitchen,

The sweet potatoes, chicken,

My nose full of mesmerizing aromas.


My palms are sweaty,

My face is hot,

My eyes are becoming teary.

Stage fright was taken over my mind

And I am speechless as to what I should say.


I sit here on the floor,

Feeling my fingers move across

The square buttons that surround them.


I have overcome that stage fright

Time in my life.

Only a number of times

Have I felt like I wanted to curl into a ball.


I sit here on the floor,

As darkness consumes the sky.

Awaiting the time

When I can stand in front of a crowd

And not be overcome with the sense

That my mind

Is turning me into a colossal mess.