The Point of View of a 13/14-Year-Old

Father

I am me.
I am impatient and loud.
So is he.

He never gives me space.
I constantly have to push
to get him out of my face.

He never leaves me alone.
I try to be patient but
rudeness gets the best of my tone.

He pokes and pries
I can only take so much
no matter how hard I try,

so he's off the deep end.
I fire back
to hurt and defend.

Maybe if he listened for real
Instead of always thinking what to say next
he would know how I feel.

I hate going to his place
and when I say this,
the constant question is in my face:

"WHAT IS AT YOUR MOM'S HOUSE THAT ISN'T HERE?"
And, for the billionth time, I tell him:
"Everything, I fear,"

but nothing's ever good enough.
So time and time again,
he asks. And times get increasingly rough.

So out comes the dragon in me.
I'm not a softie, I'm pretty tough,
So he'll never see the crier in me.

I should hold in my temper,
but that takes control.
So it comes out whenever.

If I could (or wanted to) hold the dragon back
it might be better
but I don't want to. I'd rather be heard. So I'm off my track

Like a train, constantly gaining speed,
crushing everything
from big, blossomed problem to one the size of a seed

but sometimes, life will be too big to crush
I'll wreck
turning into nothing but mush.

But I WILL be heard, no matter what comes across
He needs to learn things
that over the years he has lost.

His times of being a kid are gone
and releasing his temper
is no longer "wrong."

He forgot how to be good.
And I did too.


Jailbird

When I'm 18 and times get rough, I'll be gone as quick as a thunder's clap.

My parents have forgotten how hard it is to be under the control of someone else.

Someone bigger and smarter and "always right."

But if parents get sick of each other, forget "being respectful" and "working it out." That's kid stuff. No one cares about that;  it's too much effort. So it's off to a divorce- the lazy way out. The easy way out. If only kids had that option.

But no- kids have to tough it out. Parents may tell their kids otherwise, but adulthood is the good life. You can get divorced and sue people.

You can do whatever you want without getting punished.

Yeah, sure, there's jail. But do parents go to jail for a petty argument they've had with their sibling?

Nope.

Do they get any type of punishment?

No way.

But when KIDS do it, do they get in trouble?

You tell me. In case there's any confusion, the answer is yes.

Parents may have to pay bills and buy food and whatever, but that doesn't mean they can treat their kids like garbage.

My parents give me a rude tone about once a day. It's like second nature to them. But when I mirror it, who gets in trouble?

My parents. Just kidding. It's me.

I'm going to save this for if I ever have kids. That way, I can actually be a good parent.


-Troubled (and in Trouble) Inspiration