When my feet leave the ground

Walk, trot, canter, gallop
Jug, sloper, crimp, pocket, gaston, side pull,
All in between.

My feet leave the ground and they don’t touch until I’m finished.
I jump, I focus, I make decisions.
My feet do not hit the ground until I’m finished. 

If I lose focus, slip, or make the wrong move,
I will fall, scrape, or hurt myself,
I might cry but I will Always get back up.

I watch my heroes, the people who work non-stop for this moment.
I watch them fall, scrape, and hurt themselves,
But they get back up.
So when I fall, I get up, even if I don’t want to.

I watch them celebrate and fail.
I watch their faces,
Sad, happy, and thoughtful expressions,  
Even when they win, lose, or even tie, they’re still good sports.
I always try to be a good sport, even if I lose, win, or tie.

I use different equipment to help me.
Chalk, chalk bags, special shoes, for ISO and Red Points.
English and Western saddles, reins, bit, saddle pad, girth, and boots, for Jumping, Barrelling, Racing, and Cross-Country.
These all help me have fun and improve. 

I jump, I go fast, I go slow,
I’m finished.
Finally my feet touch the ground,
Even if I lost, 
Even if I won,
Even if I tied, 
I feel proud.
I feel powerful. 
I feel excited.

Follow That Voice

I follow that voice

It helps me make the right choice

It helps me be me

And that’s who I want to be

The voice in my head

It tells me I should go ahead

I don’t let people tell me who I’ll be

Because that’s not me

I like being myself

Because that’s me

And who I want to be

Please be yourself

Because that’s you

When you are you, you’ll find your crew

And that’s why you should follow that voice

It helps you make the right choice

A Collage of Women

That Girl
Always reads
She’s knows
About the world,
Guaranteed

That Girl
Always smiles
I’ll tell
You
It’s as big
As a
Mile

That Girl’s
Always funny
The laughs
Are worth
More than
Money

That Girl
Is creative,
Artistic
And
Celebrative

That Girl
Is so nice
Everywhere she
Walks
Has a bit more
Spice

That Girl
Is so loud
If you walk
By her
You’ll feel
Proud
Even if you see
Her in a
Crowd

When
The world
Takes a
Toll
That Girl
Makes you feel
Light in
Your
Soul

A Collage of Women

Masks

Masks

“In America,” they say,
“We are all free, and all created equal to live in this utopia.”

It is just
masks.

For here, the inequality still lies.
We have never all been created equal.

Call me pessimistic,
Say that I only look at the bad in our country,
and that I should just focus on the good,

And I’ll just tell you, “
I don’t only see the bad,
but what is right in front of my face.”

For the upper class in this unfair,
poorly run country, this is a utopia,
but for the people of color living in forced poverty,
and the women losing their rights,
and the people being shamed by society to be who they feel they are,
it is just a masked prison

A prison where they were and still are pushed out of places like schools,
jobs,
and anywhere the racist community can
Push
Push
Push

For who were previously
not allowed to speak their language,
and are still given weird and bad vibes on
being them.

It is a mask for the women who have yet to be granted equal pay,
rights,
and
more.

For the women who are losing their right to themselves.
Their safety
and
their
life.

It is a mask for those who feel they were born inside of the wrong gender,
and for those who want to
love who they love.

For who are being shamed on this,
and who may lose the right
to be them, along with
the women trapped in our masks.

This is not what I would call a
utopia.
An equally created community.
A fair life.

Like the many heroes and activists have said,
I dream of a world where people won’t be judged by their skin,
but by their character.

And that we should no longer accept the things we cannot change,
but that we are changing the things we cannot accept.

And I know that I cannot accept
the violence
the racism
the inequality
the misogyny
and these masks of a utopia.

We have a right to a fair community,
if our country decides to take off
these covers.

These sheets.

These
Masks.

ADHD

No one knows
how hard
it is
to be smart
and have
ADHD.

“You just need to focus,”
they say,
as if
I can
control it.

ADHD
is like a grip
that won’t
let go.

I try
to focus,
to not
work ahead
but I just
can’t escape
from its grasp.

People ask me,
“Why don’t you like
to read?”
Why?

I can’t.
I try
to pick up a book
and finish it
but I can’t.

My brain
just wants me
to move on,
to leave
it all
behind.

ADHD
grabs me
and pulls me down,
far under.
It makes an overachiever
underachieve.

My brain
just won’t stop
changing
its mind.

Pain

Pain is sharp like a knife
Comes quick but doesn’t leave
It’s there to meet you when you fall
There it is, I hear a scream
Sometimes it leaves a scar for you to show
Oh yes, I know.
I’ve had plenty for the injuries out there.

The ascension to night

The moon at night is a like a king on his throne… inevitable.

and when it rises to the top of the cool crisp air and up to the sky as
The night’s silent heir.

beckoning the day goodbye as it ascends into the sky,
the ruler of the night, the bringer of the tide, and the sun of the dark, the moon.

Nature

Sometimes if you look around,
you notice how the wind is blowing,
and how the trees are swaying,
and how every little animal is scurrying around.
Nature is beautiful in every way,
Just like me.

The Winter Knight

The winter knight rides like a freezing gust of wind.

In his wake, he leaves a trail of snow and ice and frost and sleet.

Near the end of his reign, he sets off to battle his rival spring.

They joust with each other and spring triumphs.

Defeated, the winter knight seeks his fortune elsewhere.