Thank God For Girls

When I Was Fourteen

When I was one

I looked to the sun

And decided I wanted

To be someone

When I was two

The sky was still blue

I wanted to be

Like people I knew

When I was three

The trees spoke to me

They told me be careful

Of what I hadn't seen

When I was four

I went out the door

With a smile on my face

Life wasn't yet a bore

When I was five

I took the dive

Started in school

And stayed alive

When I was six

I wanted to fix

This broken world

With my stones and sticks

When I was seven

I looked at the oven

And wondered if I died

Would I go to heaven?

When I was eight

I looked at my plate

And thought to be conscious

Of how much I ate

When I was nine

I stayed behind the line

Tamingly careful of

Where I let my mind

When I was ten

I was back again

All insecure

So I picked up a pen

When I was eleven

I thought of being seven

And decided I would

Never get to heaven

When I was twelve

I wanted to delve

Into my mind

A dangerous realm

When I was thirteen

I realized my dreams

I wanted to write

I wanted to scream

When I was fourteen

I was caught in between

Being a president

And being a queen

Since I've figured

Which way to lean

A queen in a figure head

For all to see

That isn't my spread

That isn't me.

XXX

Alicia Keys