Simran Singh: Poetry

​How Much Is Waking Up?

​“How much is it?” I say to the lady in my dreams.

“How much is what?” says the kind lady.

“How much is it for me to open my eyes in the morning?” I say with a soft smile, waiting for a response.

​The lady looks at me and sighs, seeing my lack of knowledge.

“Well, young lady, waking up is actually priceless.”

“Is it really?” I release a breath of relief.

She smiles and says, “Ye...”

​By then, I woke up.

I look at where I am:

in bed, ready to start the day for absolutely free.

When we wake up in the morning,

we don’t realize how much that is worth.

Someone could ask us if we want a million dollars or to wake up tomorrow morning,

and with those options, we choose to wake up in a heartbeat.

We choose to see the sun and live an amazing life.

We don’t realize how much we are given just to be able to open our eyes.

Waking up is worth much more than any amount of money for anyone.

​Tomorrow morning,

when you open your eyes

and stretch your limbs,

Just know you have won much more than any lottery.

​Insecurity

​You’ve been standing in the mirror far too long,

blade in hand.

You think that you could just cut off those “ugly and wrong” parts.

​But think about it:

Is this really true?

Do you have any wrong parts of you,

or are you just trying to get rid of parts that aren’t loved enough?

​You need to know every part of you—

even the one that is covered in scars right now—

is loved.

It's okay.

You don’t have to be full of “perfection.”

That isn’t how life was given to you.

It was filled with challenges and obstacles that hit a little too hard.

But, really, it's just about your perspective on those “challenges”

because you could most definitely consider them perfect!

​You are loved,

worthy, and important.

Many people think and care about you.

You are a puzzle piece no one wants to lose.

Stay strong.

Put the blade down and have belief in yourself.

I’m Sorry

​“I’m sorry for taking up space.”

“I’m sorry for talking too much.”

“I’m sorry for being a burden.”

“I’m sorry for being annoying.”

Ugh, I'm sorry for all I do.

​But am I supposed to be sorry?

Should I apologize when I try to give it my all?

I say sorry often,

even when I don’t need to.

I try to hold the whole picture together,

every little inch, and say sorry for others' mistakes.

Yet, I never go back and look at my part of the picture.

Is the small square that I own okay?

​Maybe it's filled with a bunch of apologies from months ago—

sympathy I don’t even own,

I just gave it out of empathy.

I wasn’t supposed to apologize or say sorry.

But still,

I did.

It felt like it was my fault when I didn’t own the mistake at all;

I only own the apology.

After looking through the small area I own,

I realized

I said sorry for more than I needed to.

About the Author:

My name is Simran Singh, I'm thirteen years old and I live in Anoka, Minnesota. I’m currently in eighth grade at Anoka Middle School for the Arts. I enjoy writing because it helps me to clear my mind, and I think words also really can put so much impact into another person.