Awful Growing Up

I want a peanut butter
And jelly sandwich
Shaped like a dinosaur
With the crusts cut off.
Instead, I’m eating
A salad with tomatoes.
This awful growing up.
I used to take baths
With duckies and cups,
The towel was so big
It engulfed me like a blanket.
Now I take a quick shower
And fall into bed, exhausted.
This awful growing up.
I want to sit on
My dad’s lap
And watch cartoons.
But cartoons turned
To dramas and comedy.
This awful growing up.
My mother used to hum
And rub my back
To help me fall asleep.
Now I lay awake every night,
Overthinking anything
I can manage to think of.
This awful growing up.
I want to play princess
And catch frogs with my brother.
But I’m stuck in a classroom
Learning things I won’t remember
In twenty years.
This awful growing up.
I don’t remember the last time
I was tucked in,
Mac n cheese no longer counts
As a meal,
And my future begins
In eighteen months.
This
Awful
Growing
Up.