Born Second Best

A poem about Childhood and being the younger of two siblings. =)

I was born in second place

Always right behind my brother

A boy whose dark brown hair

And hazel green eyes

Would sneer at me when he knew

                He would always

                                Always

Beat me at chess

 

I grew up tall with lean legs

And awkwardly placed baby fat

With the joke if my brother didn’t get much taller

           I might just pass him up

But I guess at some point

Even if I may have been what some people call

                           Late Bloomer

I grew to almost 5’7 and not an inch taller

 

No match for my older brothers 5’10 and a quarter

 

I was always the youngest

It was no matter if I was just with immediate family

Or a wide variety of cousins spread all over the country

Family members would look down at me

And with smiles practically giggle at how

           “oh so adorable!” I was

Not to mention the favored

           You’ve gotten so big!!

 

I always enjoyed the attention

But god did it get under my skin

When the bigger kids decided

                                Wow… a 10 year old?

                How lame

And tried to ditch me in the woods in the middle of

                Tennessee

 

I’m not saying I was an angel

No I was more a blonde haired

Freckle faced demon child

                With a weird fixation on animal facts

                                Tigers in particular

And estranged sky cut out blue eyes

That just LOVED to play tattle tale

 

I was born

With this terrible want to control things

That those little claw like nails

Never

                Ever could

 

But even so

I always had crazy dreams

Of being a circus preforming tiger trainer, ballerina, marine biologist

Though I did finally settle I guess on Artist

But not before my brother moved out

And my parents got divorced

                And I found myself in second place

 

In a million other places

                With always just one person

                                     One step ahead

Always ready to beat me

        At chess

And it was then that I realized

Maybe Second Best

Wasn't so bad after all 

Author's Note

everything here in intentional.

Reviews

[SquinklaPsyOps]

Second best is good when someone in your family is number one. Congratulations on the way you wrapped the poem it gives the message that you are happy even though other people might try for you to compete versus your family where competition is only your business and not others. Good work.

[kera moondust]

oh thank you =)