Smart Kid

If you’re defined by one thing all your life
What happens when you’re no longer able to be it?
Smart kid, nerd, teacher’s pet
Title’s I secretly embrace
They show that I have a place in the hierarchy
Show that I’m good at something
It’s all I know

But what if I’m no longer so smart?
If you’re defined by one thing all your life
You live in fear of it going away
I don’t know what makes me smart
I can’t hold onto
If I can’t find it

Every less than perfect grade
A slap
It should be a wake up call
But instead I hide it from myself
Stay in denial
Keep my place
Too scared to let it go
And be someone else

Slowly the secret leaks out
And I shift
Less of a genius
More of a person
That I want to be
Just me
I’ve faced my fears
Shown my flaws
And realized that smart kid
Is only one part
of me
not everything, not nothing
just a facet
part of a covered gem
as the rest of me slowly comes to light