Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Teenage Laureate

The United States government should seriously consider appointing a teenage poet to the position of Laureate. Among the ranks of Maya Angelou, we would have a voice for the angst-stricken. A purveyor of words for the unheard. A weaver of magic for the annoyed.

There she goes again
Offering me a sandwich
She knows I hate Swiss cheese.

Is she taunting me?
Telling me to "eat" my dinner
Madness!

She appears to me, like a nightmare I cannot wake from...
Get up!
Have you done your homework?
Get in the car, we will be late for your music practice

Woman!
Have YOU done your homework
I want to scream back?

I watch her writhe
No grace
Back hunched
Face twisted
As she tries to dance to my music.
I laugh, for she cannot know the words of Kanye.

Go back to your Peter Gabriel, Mother!

I want to scream and run for freedom...
But instead, I slowly roll my eyes
and gently exhale
and tighten my burdened shoulders

And I smile, knowing she cannot see me do these things

16 comments:

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

You have captured it.

Nancy said...

Is this your daughter's perfect composition?

I love it!

Sass said...

Back to your Peter Gabriel. Chuckle.

Your blog is great - so I gave you an award in honour of your jokes (esp. the rude ones).

Suburban Correspondent said...

She sees it all right....and it drives her crazy!

Anonymous said...

Well-done! I love it!! And I don't have a teenager in the house yet, but my time is coming, I know it's coming...

Anonymous said...

very funny. except for the knocking of peter gabriel. who doesn't swoon over "in your eyes"???

Memarie Lane said...

Ah yes, such a burden to have a mom who tries hard to take good care of you. I remember the days well.

painted maypole said...

bwa ha ha ha ha!

Liv said...

i just got distracted by misreading something in one of your ads. you SO don't want to know what i thought it said. but, i laughed so hard that i forgot what i was going to say!

Jen said...

Liv - I do too want to know!!

Sass-e Thanks for the bling, honey!

And my daughter could probably write something a LOT better than this. I was just sort of channelling her the other day...she is actually already published as a poet in an anthology - she's passed her mom up!

Fairly Odd Mother said...

Awesome and perfect. The Peter Gabriel line made me laugh. What? He isn't cool anymore??

Carrie @carrieloves said...

I love that!

I watch her writhe
No grace
Back hunched
Face twisted
As she tries to dance to my music.
I laugh, for she cannot know the words of Kanye.

Too Funny!

Madame Queen said...

That is one of the best things I've ever read. I don't have teenagers (YET!) but I remember those days well. You have perfectly captured the disdain. Hilarious.

Anonymous said...

Major snorting.

Bogart said...

Thanks for letting me stop by...this is great!

Swistle said...

This is hilarious. Also: terrifying.