Posted by Kirsys on October 20, 1999 at 15:35:54:
Something she said triggered my anger yesterday.
Was it that she said I had a responsibility to society?
Or was it that she said I was not regular?
I put down my pencil and my lips became thin hard lines on my face
Is there something wrong with being regular?
My mother is regular. My father is regular.
Something that woman said made me shiver and close in.
Was it that she said I was brilliant?
Or was it that she said I could reach perfection?
I dropped my essay flatly on the little desk
and made my textbook sit on it till it screamed and died.
Is there something wrong in being common?
My great grandmother was common.
But the woman says "I know what you can do..I want you to be perfect"
I could shoot all these numbers and the world would not change
And if my thoughts are unclear, nothing will perish
But she says "You have a gift...you are here for a reason"
What reason could justify the burn in your hands?
What reason could justify the abuse in your words?
"Your IQ is 147....."
And so what? Must I be the caged animal in your control
As you analyze all my words and actions, smile at my frustration
Laugh at my pleas, consider them traits of the gifted child
"Oh yes, look! She performs again! I read they act like this somewhere!"
Right. Categories adorn your feelings for me, like fungus on humid walls.
I look at the hanging ID on the latch of my cage.
There is no name. I am 147.