As a Small Boy – July 2012

As a Small Boy

as a small boy
i remember what it felt like
to be not understood
to feel like an outsider
adults not laughing with me
but at me,
or with that quizzical frown
and a look, which makes you think
why am i around
funny,
how parents often never reflect
on the labels and badges
and their lifelong effect
being part of something
is almost everything
as a child i dreamt
of an inviting warmth
where quirks sat so easy
and flowed like sweet honey
away from the crazy paving
of unrelenting not understanding family
it is always a shame
when the adults,
simply reject and neglect
a child based upon presumptions
i should not utter the, ‘a’ word
it is too close to no use
take out the, ‘no’ and the ‘ab’
as a small boy




James Garratt – July 2012