See more from Carmen Graber here this year. She teaches 8th grade English Language Arts, a grade whose students take part in a district-wide poetry slam each year. She wrote this poem while working with her students on their poetry slam poems. Is it really what's inside that counts?
On the Outside
It’s
what is on the inside that matters.
How
many times have you heard that?
How
many times have you said that?
To
a child, to a teen, to a friend.
Words
of comfort
From
well-meaning persons
To
make someone feel better.
But
what about the tears
Sliding
down the cheeks
Of
a young boy
Trying
to hide the bruises.
Those
are on the outside-
Does
that mean they don’t matter?
Appearing
on the arm
Of
a young girl
Trying
to end the pain.
Those
are on the outside-
Does
that mean they don’t matter?
What
about the anger and rage
Of
a teenage boy swallowing steroids
So
he can make the team.
The
explosions are on the outside -
Does
that mean they don’t matter?
What
about the protruding ribs and bones
Of
the teenage girl
Starving
herself to become model thin.
Those
are on the outside -
Does
that mean they don’t matter?
What
about the emptiness and despair
Prominently
displayed on the faces
Of
a young man or young woman
Whose
forever after has suddenly ended.
Those
are on the outside -
Does
that mean they don’t matter?
What
are we missing
By
only looking to the inside?
Not
everything on the outside
Is
superficial.
Sometimes
-
The
outside provides a window
Into
the soul of the people around us
And
together that is what matters.
~cjgraber (c) 2018
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