Author: erikarowlee

In the cold morning,

I step into the shower,

worshipping the warm water

as it trickles down my skin.

I raise my hand to its source

and close my eyes,

feeling heat flow

in lines, healing

the frigid feeling,

exorcising it from my limbs.

My blood pumps with life

renewed, as I wake up

and truly open my eyes.

 

When I am clean,

I turn off the water,

wrap myself in a towel.

Though the cold air

presses on me,

I am not chilled

like I was before.

All of them have their quirks and problems,

though all they see are the others, not

their own. I am different than them.

I can see the numbers for what they

refuse to, and I can see myself

as I know I am. 1 is always

unconfident, which he tries to keep

hidden by pretending to be the

know-it-all everyone thinks he is.

2 can never keep her thoughts straight and

can not pay attention long enough

to get higher than a low B and

worries too much about her feelings.

3 is just there, such a small part in

everyone else’s world, and even

though he tries so hard, he will never

find places like other numbers have.

4 is so caught up in what all the

other numbers think of her that she

does not even know what she thinks of

herself. 5 tries to cover what she

thinks is weakness by acting tougher

than she needs to. 6 never steps out

of line and never takes chances and

is somehow pushed to the front and praised

like he is our leader or something.

7 takes on too much and burns out

too quickly and always wonders why.

8 shirks responsibility as

often as he can because he thinks

that no one cares even though they do.

9 can not keep her head out of

the clouds long enough to focus on

what is real and in front of her.

 

Me? What is my problem? Noticing

others’ faults is one of them of

so many. But one stands raised

above all the rest – I

am not important.

I don’t matter.

That is just

how it

is.

7 hurried down the hall

to the volleyball practice she

knew was starting now without her

because she had to stay after

class in physics to ask for

help on her extra credit work.

The extra points were needless

to her grade, but she wanted to

excell. Everything could be

hers if she tried hard enough – class

valedictorian, team

captain of the volleyball squad,

first trumpet in the high school

band, solo in the new choir

number – she could do it all.

She ran passed the computer room

on her way to the gym and

peeked inside, knowing exactly

who she would see inside. 8

was lounging there as usual,

watching soccer games as he

would stuff his face with those greasy

chips he somehow enjoyed while

cheering for plays that he could be

making himself at practice,

which 7 knew started about

an hour ago. She didn’t

know how he could do that to his

team and his coach and himself.

7 shook her head, speeding her

steps toward her commitment.

Even if she was tired and sore,

she said she would and she kept

her word, even if people like

8 decided to lay back

and take it easy, she wouldn’t.

Those words were her motto when

she was hurting and wanting to

give up, that idea gave her

the drive to push forward as

she always did, just like she

was then, running to her next task.