black hole garden

Sarcasm

Even at the tender age of three
I could catch sarcasm
It runs in my family tree
And I was taught to throw it at 'em

But then preschool was over
And my kindergarten days have begun
They'd call me "slowpoke" as I hover
While doing the laps that we'd run

It didn't hurt when I was five
I thought they were being sarcastic
My speed didn't matter; running made me feel alive
My classmates' words were like static

But I would soon learn
Some people mean their words
It wasn't a lesson to yearn
Just like one half plus a one-thirds

They meant it when they said I chewed like a cow
They meant it when they said I was raised by monkeys
And I thought, things are different now
And life's turning out to be pretty sucky

I cried when they laughed after I tripped while playing soccer
They giggled as I sobbed over my first F
And for a while I thought I had lost her
I wondered if I, too, had left

Some people dislike sarcastic comments
Some actually loathe them with a passion
But I wonder if they know the laments
Of a genuine tongue lashing.