A poem about feeling like a child

If you’ve ever felt restricted by rules thrusted upon you as a child, this poem is for you. This is about my experience at the dinner table as a kid. We had a lot of rules when I was younger and I could never follow them quite right. The biggest rule – not being able to leave without being excused – still sticks to me to this day.

The Table
I’m chained to this table

The wood boards hold on tight

To leave I’m unable

Though I didn’t ask, they gave me their appraisal

I’m never enough, always fall short, their expectations not quite met

I’m chained to this table

I don’t belong here, clearly a mislabel

But I can’t go, not so while I’m in their sight

To leave I’m unable

Their words pack such a blow that if I let down my guard, it is fatal

I sit quiet, keep my shield up, trying to remain polite

I’m chained to this table

There’s no word for how we are, in the entire world, not one label

But I was taught appreciate what you have, don’t be ungrateful

To leave I’m unable

Five legs wobble, clearly unstable

Food sliding left and right and left and right and left and right

I’m no longer chained to this table

To leave I’m unable

Did this poem speak to you at all? Do you feel like you had a lot of rules as a child that you look back upon? Let us know in the comments below!

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