An Awkward Age

I remember growing older I remember ages five to ten I remember being slapped on playgrounds Walking and never knowing when       they would come Never a place to run   It's what all the teachers call    an awkward ageWell I wish that ICould find out whyI was    so uncoolAnd I didn't knowwhy I was hated soI never even met them“It's just the way kids are,” they say"Grow a spine, wish it away." I remember growing older I remember ages twelve to eighteen I remember waking marked and bloody And always wishing I could not be seen     by a soul crawling into a hole Well its what all the doctors call      an awkward age and they call them zits or pimples leaving pits but then      pain is pain And the scars it left and all the marks I've kept are more than on my face Into my soul the phrase I'll heap “Beauty's more than just skin deep” I remember growing older I remember being one and forty I remember her being in the bathtub with bad pen marks darkly      on her arms crying over all the harms Now its what I will choose to call      an awkward age when her mind did start to fall apart and I       grew so strong And I managed to do what I had to do Never mind my own needs My mighty shoulders may be sore but I can always take on more