Zebra Girl

11.13.21

Somewhere out there is a girl
with a zebra backpack

When she first got it she was so excited
Zebras were her favorite animal
She hates it now, though
and zebras
and horses

But not the group of children
who mocked her for it saying
zebras were donkeys, not real horses
that they were lion food
and dumb
Not the horse loving group who called her
Zebra Girl
from then on

She took a sharpie to the backpack
filling in the white stripes
The smell of so much ink drew her father
who took the pen after listening
to what happened and said,

"When we let people influence us like that, you are letting them change you and you lose a bit of who you once were. Sometimes that is a good thing and it's largely unavoidable if you want to fit into a group or a tribe. The advice I would give you then is this: You should choose who you allow to shape you carefully.

In many ways, this is how you choose who you become."

He then gave the pen back
but the girl left the backpack as it was