Bad Friends
Love to hate
Hate to love
Their cruelty
An old glove
Kaylee cries
In kindergarten
Yes the scars
Are forever
As the teacher
I can tell
Birthday parties
Don’t go well
After the cupcakes
Sima’s slap
Makes the blood
Run like sap
Does a gift
Give or get
Between mothers
It is a debt
The party is
A crank you turn
To make the other
Children burn
Sima stole
Your Lego set
Ruled the party
Won the bet
She said you are
Fat and stupid
And you won’t
Be included
But Kaylee
Come September
Sima’s smile
May seem tender
Your birthday is
An edifice
Every year
It is less
–Ticky Kennedy
Poet in Residence
SchoolNewsToday.com
NOTE
“Children can cause untold suffering, not only for their peers but for parents as well. Children’s friendships begin early–in infancy–and run exceptionally deep in intensity and loyalty. As children grow, their friendships become more complex and layered but also more emotionally fraught, marked by both extraordinary intimacy and bewildering cruelty.”
Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding The Social Lives of Children
Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. and Catherine O’Neill Grace with Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D.
Also Read: Mother Accused of Making Unhealthy Birthday Cupcake