Am I Weird?

(A common question from teenagers when they do not get accepted easily by the society- Published on Poets Unlimited, May 2017)

What is it with people
and the differences they see?
the existence of a double
for any person, just can't be?

What I would give
for no judgments or comments?
I am not doing the jive
Just talking, just semantics.

The awkwardness, the silence
how I wish to forgo it.
I am just like anyone else
I want people to know it.

Countless people brushed me off
because of the way I speak.
My mannerisms, my style
have charged many a critique.

I comfort myself by saying
"Who cares, what they say"?
but how much reassuring
can a person really belay?

So is it the only solution
to conform hopelessly,
willingly rid yourself of ammunition
and  go to the abattoir helplessly.

To be chopped, cut and murdered
devoid of all personal antiquities,
I can't fathom that kind of life
That can't be the end of this soliloquy.

I will learn to love myself
all the good and the bad,
I already know I can't be shelved
I am unique and glad.

To hold your own
to stand tall and proud,
to whatever situation
that may be bestowed.

These things are new to me,
But with this newfound hope
I will embrace this new me,
and no longer mope.

I am kind, smart and beautiful
already achieved what few
never thought possible,
I shouldn't feel blue.

I will proceed with my life
as I have before,
But this time with my head high
Not hanging low!!!!