DUE DATE

I was born 5 weeks early.

I couldn’t wait

to join the rest of the world,

and that is

exactly

the moment

my enthusiasm ceased.

The nurses tried to take me so my

“mother could sleep.”

But she refused to let me go.

I’m sure ultimately,

I ended up

in a common room for newborns.

And I’m sure ultimately,

I lay there comparing myself to the other babies.

Wondering if I were as smart as they were.

Or as funny.

Or as beautiful.

The avеrage baby weighs 8 pounds.

I weighеd 5.

The average baby is 20 inches long.

I was 14.

And it was on my first day on Earth

that I realized I didn’t measure up,

and I never would