He Was Born a Burden

He was a burden; he knew this without words His mother liked him the first few hours When people came over and gushed and gave her gifts She was angry they had not brought her enough money To glorify that she had gone through the experience of birth He did not realize for these few hours that he would be in the way By the age of three he was totally aware he was not a talisman, rather bad juju, a burden that had “ruined his mother” This was not only said in words, but reiterated in actions. By the time he entered kindergarten, his frown was perpetual. He knew he would be a burden to his teacher. She did not think so at first, so he set out to prove it.