Who Knew

Back when I was a child, they said I was poor, but I did not know it. Until one of my teachers pointed at me and said, it’s okay for you to show it, and that you have no cause for shame. I should have asked her then, but my mind didn’t comprehend, and to this day I still think about what message she was trying to send. Ashamed of what— I never knew, so I lived my childhood without ever having a clue. Maybe there was something, or someone I should blame. But I was never one to follow the rules of the game. I just smiled and said okay, then I walked out to join my friends, on the playground’s monkey bars. I was the king of the monkey bars, and I was not ashamed of that either.