ADHD

OCD

ODD
Informational pamphlets lodged between
my mothers index finger and thumb
as the doctor types out a prescription
for Adderall.
She frowns at me in frustration
like it’s my fault.

I went to lunch everyday,
but the food remained on my tray.
Taken off the medication,
twenty pounds later
She blames me
and my oh-so-thin frame
for those substandard grades on my report card.
I stick out in school
like my ribs poke out from under my shirt.

Teachers don’t bother to distinguish the difference
between struggling and carelessness.
They never hesitate
to lash, lecture, and litigate.
Been a straight D student
since the fifth grade.

School is frigid air biting at bare skin,
I’m skinned like a bear.
School is dark violence displayed
in the most subtle ways.
Recess was a battle ground.
There wasn’t pencil and paper present,
but kids are relentless.
I am a walking exhibit,
exposed, peeled like the apple
I never cared to lift from my tray.