Validation by Shehrbano Syed (17, Pakistan)

The bitter aftertaste burns my tongue 
Empty cups line the sides of my prison
Eyes burn with rejection,
As the dirty red scars into
The page of my worth 
“You aren’t doing enough”
I’m trying my best

---

Every moment of time,
A shadow of you haunts me.
Reminding me that you alone 
Control the strings of my future 
“If you blink now it’ll all be gone”
Don’t you think I know that?

The happiness of success is short,
as the next failure breaks further into
the crumbling walls of my sanity 
“doing well in one test isn’t enough”
Please, stop.

Validation, I crave it,
And only you can give it to me,
the only time when they look at me,
Is when I do well with you.
“Good grades aren’t everything”
But aren't they?