Special Needs

In second grade
the teacher
announced that I 
was "special needs"

A lot of snickers
that day

truth be told
I failed 
my  assessments
on purpose

They wanted
an idiot
I gave 
them one

I was diagnosed 
with dyspraxia 

might as well
had down syndrome
or emotional disturbance

as we were 
all thrown
together in the
same class
in those days

Took years 
to find out
I had a
high IQ,

Yet even
if I didn't
I am human

Those who 
are intellectually 
disable

are human.

Today
&
3 Master degrees later

My older sibling
who never went 
to college

informed me
that our mom
never worried
about her or
my younger sister

because

they were not 
special needs.......

words still hurt....