Thank you
They thought I was gifted
They thought I was a prodigy
They thought I was a GENIUS
They thought
wrong
Sesame Street was replaced with
National Geographic
Birthday candles were used
as tools
cut into halves and quarters
I had to add fractions to figure out
how old I was
My entire childhood was spent
indoors
hiding behind piles of books
instead of towering trees
My skin was bleached
by fluorescent lamps
that should have been the sun
Sitting at my desk
I wrote until my eyes turned red
and my knuckles ached
I wondered if this was normal
for all children
I have no childhood memories
of bicycles
or icecream
or summer days at the pool
or friends
My childhood began when I turned
thirteen
My childhood began when it was
too late
After a 13 year sentence
my prison disappeared
and I was granted
time to play
Now I am twenty-one
and still learning what it's like
to live
But I still live
in my books
No matter how hard I try
No matter how many beers I drink
My life will always be
someone else's words
printed in a book
Thank you mother
with your black suits and lesson plans
Thank you father
disciplinarian and headmasterof my school
Thank you both for giving me
unreachable goals and
unrealistic standards
to live by
And I will always feel
And I will always KNOW
that I am not as smart
as I am
SUPPOSED to be
I'm sorry I let you down
but that was the best that I could do
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