Other Than

I want to be younger.

I want to have better skin,

I want to have better hair.

I want to be trimmer,

want to be thinner.

But none of these things matter

to the power within her.

I want to poised,

want to be classy.

But what comes out when I speak

is curse words and sassy.

I want to be cool, calm, collected.

But when I speak,

my inner fire is resurrected.

I want to have an education from a university.

But my degree was earned

by surviving and living.

I want to have less wrinkles,

I want to look different than me.

But I know my power is in

my authenticity.

I want to be eloquent,

I want to be poetic.

But I’ve learned the best thing I can do

is silence my inner critic.

In so many ways,

I want to be other than what I am.

But I realized the world has enough “other”

and I can take a stand.

I stand in my power,

I stand in honesty.

I stand with my arms wide open,

in vulnerability.

I stand in confidence,

knowing in every moment I have a choice.

With my age, my truth and every part of who I am,

I decide my most valuable attribute is my voice.

-April Stanley