Other kids call me strange
shy, overweight, scared
youngest in the class
distracted by incest and abuse
I speak using big words
apply abstract ideas in
ordinary conversations
scare teachers who
without a smile
without a frown
ignore my raised hand
banishing me to silence
just like mom
just like dad.
JUDY SHEPPS BATTLE has been writing essays and poems long before retiring from being a psychotherapist and sociology professor. She is a New Jersey, USA resident, addictions specialist, consultant and freelance writer. Her poems have been accepted in a variety of publications including Ascent Aspirations; Barnwood Press; Battered Suitcase; Caper Literary Journal; Epiphany Magazine; Joyful; Message in a Bottle Poetry Magazine; Raleigh Review; Rusty Truck; Short, Fast and Deadly; the Tishman Review, and Wilderness House Literary Press.
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