A La Distinction Poem by Sarah Jane Black

She stares in the mirror—
This girl with multi-hued hair
This girl with bluebell eyes that
Subtly shift colors with the colors she
Meticulously adorns with her body.

she moves like a shadow in a
vacant, sunless room
This girl is not fire
This girl is not ice
her substance is as
human as the other six billion
odds and ends of all of us out there

her eyes are never dried out
and when she blinks,
it is only out of habit
to appear the human role

when she tries to search the
controversial thoughts of who she should be
who she should have been
and who she will be
something takes place that doesn't take
place in others minds:
she sees the core of her soul
and knows the truth about
the girl with multihued hair
and bluebell eyes—
she is mortal and truly believes it.

so she goes on.
and in this going on she is vaguely in
slow realizing the reality of her dreams.