Halfway Between

Halfway girl,

Stuck between what she does and what she should

Trapped in the middle whilst toeing a line,

Weighing sanity behind being 'good'.

(They look, but do not see

The subtle misery;

They listen, but do not hear,

The ringing of her ears . . . )

She's driving herself mad, trying not to fall behind

On all the heavy expectations slowly curling down her spine.  

They don't say her writing is bad,

But nor is it ever good enough

(Expectations, expectations, always to be had -

Well, no one ever claimed life wouldn't be tough).

She wants someone to tell her it is worthy

Her work is worthy

She is worthy

But there are only lukewarm reviews, always, on everything:

Clothes, academics, performances,

Exercises, friends, and conformances,

And it is never more than halfway betweens,

Try again laters,

And piece-yourself-together-agains.

Some girls, you see,

Live in palaces like princesses,

Squalor as surfs,

Or islands in isolation,

But they all know the call.

Here is to us,

And to all the other girls of the halfway between.