What A Shallow Thing | Clara Kelley

What a shallow thing
To obsess over a guy
And yet the human mind
seems determined to try

I have struggled and I have suffered
I have watched you every day
I fade into the background
As you go about your way

I have lied about my feelings
I have tried to hide away
And now you have forgotten me
Much to my dismay

Now you have a girl
A wonderful girl at that
But she's not me and she never will be
Oh come on, what's the matter with me?

I promised myself I would never give in
Never put myself down over some stupid guy
But my idiotic mind
Seems determined to try

So now I watch
All alone
As you smile with your girl
I turn my heart into stone

What a shallow thing
To obsess over a guy
Yet my pain-bringing mind
Seems determined to try

Poet's note: This poem, although it is kind of the shallow story of literally every high schooler, expresses the raw emotion of torture we have all endured: unrequited love. I have liked a person in my school for almost a year, and they never noticed me. I just watched them and felt less and less worthy as they took no interest in me. Just a few weeks before writing this poem my cruch got into a relationship. Although it's been extremely painful, it has helped my to start to move on, and recognize that my worthiness doesn't depend on the opinion of some guy. The poem is supposed to portray my frustration, but also my realistic nature: I understand that I am being kind of irrational, but my emotions are genuine and valid, and all part of the human struggle.