A poem I wrote, inspired by Li-Young Lee's "The City In Which I Love You."

I don't love my country any less today than I did yesterday, but I am not any prouder of it either. We seek justice under a man-made system and hope to find truth in the hands of men and women. But truth and justice cannot be found there. Vengeance is not always manifested in the courts.

This is my first open mic piece from a few months ago. It was a nervous, exhilarating, and humbling experience. Can't wait to do more.

The worst thing that happens to us when we grow up is we realize the meaning of "risk." Risk is the potential loss after committing an action. In 1957, Parker Brothers released a board game called Risk where players take turns trying to achieve world domination while moving their infantry around a political map of the world. That certainly involves risk.

The short version about me would say all the basics: that I'm seventeen, a senior in high school, a thirteen year veteran of home-school, a writer, a golfer, a person. But the facts you already know and they only tell part of the story, the way one can only estimate the time of day by the position of the sun.