Too Small Is The Cage That Says You're Too Small For Your Age

small for her age
well aren't you?
they always say

the odd parent at
the school picnic, P.T.A.
making pleasantries

that aren't that pleasant
to the child in question.
even at the time the

remark seemed strange;
what feat's required of you
then, excessive tallness?

you could still reach your books,
the coat hooks, painting easels.
where was the harm in

remaining small as long
as God wished it
and why did they look

so pleased at their observation?
small for your age
heard year after year

and then you're grown
and you're stuck with being small forever,
it looks like;

is this a crime? will you suddenly stop
breathing from inordinate smallness;
commiting

a faux pas in the Land of the Tall?
I never knew.
and why they took on, everywhere

with a glittering stare
about a few inches,
here or there.

as if that meant anything.

mary angela douglas 26 december 2015