He grew up in a house where
Make us proud in America.
textbooks thicker than his biceps.
He built himself like a soldier,
At the gym, he's confident.
In class, he's brilliant.
At church, he's polished.
big, awkward, stutter-step laughs
like maybe if he jokes enough,
he doesn't know how to say
like God might be disappointed
in how much he's pretending.
He's trying to be perfect
because that's what he was taught.
That weakness is dangerous.
That rest is for people who don't matter.
Be loud in a way that's not funny.
Because behind the good friend,
your parents built from fear—
to be loved without performing.
even if no one ever said it
when you needed to hear it.