the ocean is too volatile for me by Ezri Rohatgi (14, California)

​i’m not pretty. my face is too wide, my nose too big, and my hair is far too weak to take
criticism.
but once upon a time my words were enough. if i picked up the pen and let my hand
go wild it was enough. peeling off the chains on my tongue was enough to make them
smile and nod. when i first opened my mouth, it could fight invisible dragons without a
​sword.

---

they let the words band aid what my charm could not. i laid the letters out on a table
and crafted a dam out of glass. i stood on dry land, ignoring the flood building behind
my back.
i was never told that a foundation built of validation burns like a wildfire. when i stood
and watched my glass palace crumble, the flood ahead looked almost enticing. if the
waves swept me away i like to think i would’ve fought hard enough.
the fairytale end i drew in the sand was doused with salt water, erased by the back of a
pencil. i swallowed the glass whole and the words hit like a feather once more.
once the compliments retreated, i was a book with the vowels sucked out. a sentence
only made of consonants.
at loss of how to exist without being loved.