When I Was Seven

by Paolo Kalalo

(With permission to republish from the author; originally published on FB, April 22, 2015. He's a former student of Ms. Anna Cajator Asuncion. 

This is an excellent example of a narrative, autobiographical poem.)

When I was 7
I went to a new school
they made fun of my shirt
I thought myself a fool

My happy self was gone
You couldn’t deny it.
Starting that day,
I became a little quiet.

When I was 13,
My family moved to a new country,
So much I wasn’t used to,
Everything new around me.

Still that quiet kid on the surface,
Peachy isn’t a word I would use.
School was shitty, homesickness too
I hated life’s abuse.

One day, to my expense
A bully had a good time
That was the day
I tried to end my life.

As you can tell,
That plan didn’t quite work,
So instead I found a hobby,
An escape for a recluse.

Little did I know,
What I did to escape,
Would one day become
My little red cape.

Slowly I found out
I wasn’t all that weak,
And in time I rediscovered
The power to speak.

Slowly but surely,
I was getting out of my shell,
All the more having the courage,
to love myself.

The more I lived
The more that was said
The more I started to think
“Hey, I’m not half bad.”

Time goes on,
I make my fair share of friends,
High school is over,
But this is hardly the end

That little red cape,
Which stayed with me throughout
Made me a survivor,
and full of love, Inside and out.

In a short amount of time
I found my rhythm and rhyme,
I found quality people,
And can now call them mine.

I love the life I live
And the person I have become
Every day is a gift
And I’m glad to have this one.

Now the point of this piece
Isn’t to recap the past,
It’s about saying something
That’ll hopefully last

Obstacles are made to be overcome
Barriers are meant to be broken.
You decide your own potential
With every action done, every word spoken.

From someone that thought 
he was a failure to a fighter,
Broken to alive
Know that you're priceless,
Don’t fall for doubt’s lies.

So are you worth life, love
and all the endless stars?
To keep it short, simple, and sweet
The answer is yes, you are.