They think, I don’t notice, when they tiptoe,

like I’m made of glass,

And the room goes quiet whenever they pass,

Me by,

Because I don’t know why,

But with the small number that is my age,

And these eyes,

That still believe,

In the world,

Still naïve,

They assume me,

A shallow little girl.

Just a child living in ignorance,

In innocence,

Who couldn’t possibly wrap her head around,

The big, bad world.

So ‘shhh’ they say,

Listening ears that aren’t yet grown,

As they try and shelter me from it all, ‘she’s too small’,

Protect me from the truths I already know.

They don’t realize that behind,

The hope that still resides,

In me, I’m not stupid, I see, not blind.

I can look through the careful veil, the disguise,  the world wears.

This head is not full of air.

Despite what you think, I do have a voice, lots of things to say,

But the world is too grown, too busy making important decisions,

Too busy focusing on today, to think about my tomorrow,

And maybe stop to listen.

But we’re just kids, right?

The wild dreams, the crazy ideas,

They aren’t important.

Well, unfortunately,

For you,

You’re wrong.

And I’d say so if you stopped for long,

Enough to hear.

And they say we are too young to be trusted,

The ones who would follow their friends off a cliff.

But what if,

You need the ones who jump,

The ones with the fresh worldview,

To show you,

Everything you’re missing by declaring our opinions invalid,

Our chime-ins unnecessary,

Our decisions wrong,

Think about everything you never heard, by never stopping for long,

Enough to hear.

If nothing I say is of worth, then why am I here?

Maybe I’m making a mistake, maybe I’ll fall,

But don’t tell me that I’m all,

Wrong, stupid, shallow,

They aren’t synonyms with youth,

So stop using all your convenient lies to replace the truth.

So don’t talk down to me.

Don’t lie to me.

Don’t sugarcoat the real world.

No I’m not stupid, or shallow or wrong,

Yes, I am a little girl.