Stranger In My Own Blood Poem by Vanessa Alvarez

When I first awoke to the world's gaze,
No one saw me—not in loving ways.
No worth was given, no name held dear,
Only silence wrapped around my fear.

Their teasing words, I kept inside,
A secret pain I had to hide.
No one to turn to, no one to trust,
No ally to shield me from the dust.

They said I was found in bamboo shade,
Buried by parents who felt afraid.
So I learned why my heart they dismissed
Not of their blood, not on their list.

But as I grew, the truth came near:
I was pure of blood, born sincere.
Still, I could not believe it whole,
For they treated me like a borrowed soul.

A stranger at the family's gate,
A name they spoke but did not celebrate.
Though I belonged, I felt apart
A distant echo in their heart.