I ran dripping wet,
From the juice from the counter spilled over me,
Dad calls me,
A loser.
...
Numbers are my favorite things to play with,
Which is why I love math.
I like to subtract,
I like to add,
...
I am anything but average.
Mom, you think I'd understand the biology of my brain,
Because I take AP Bio,
I'm the smartest junior, they say,
...
What's this girl makin a fuss out of?
Don't get pregnant, I've got a lot riding on this,
It'll be so big,
But that's what she said.
...
Hey, it's me, I sit next you in Social Studies.
You're always really quiet,
And you seem very sad today…
like you are, everyday.
...
Dad Calls Me
I ran dripping wet,
From the juice from the counter spilled over me,
Dad calls me,
A loser.
A curse.
He dries me up with his bare palms,
A smack, I hear, from every word,
DIE!
DIE, YOU IMBECILE PIECE OF TRASH, JUST DIE!
I'm bruising and hurting,
Sometimes even bleeding.
I brought a friend over,
To my lawn, to play pretend.
Dad calls me,
A failure.
A disorder.
He dries me up with his leather belt,
A smack, I hear, from every word,
DIE!
DIE, YOU IMBECILE PIECE OF TRASH, JUST DIE!
I go back outside,
And tell my friend to leave,
Covering up my blackened wrists.
I bring a spelling test back home,
It's just a letter grade below what I usually get.
Dad calls me,
An illiterate.
A bad influence.
He dries me up with a burnt spatula,
A smack, I hear, from every word,
DIE!
DIE, YOU IMBECILE PIECE OF TRASH, JUST DIE!
I stuff the paper in my bag,
And go back to school to lie about the same bruises from the night.