my mother always told me I was perfect
but she must have been lying
i figured it out by the fifth grade
it was a playground brawl
and i threw the first blow.
the dog that followed me home
wasn't my dog
but i kept him anyway
i needed someone to look up to
my mother got rid of the dog
before i could even name him
she said he stunk up the house and chewed up her plants
after that i always tried to behave
so she would want to keep me
the whole reason the fight started
was 'cause christina couldn't decide
if she was my friend or amy's
but christina had to choose
so naturally we had it out.
i pulled amy's hair and she bit my arm
we were like those rams in mating season
that they made us watch in science
fighting over the female sheep
except instead of horns and hooves
we had sparkly green fingernails.
and all the boys cheered
'cause not only were we the only girls
who could win at wall ball
but also we were making quite a scene
the principal made us sit in hard, tall chairs
said it's natural for girls our age to compete
over boys friends grades but mostly boys
swinging our feet we played
endless rounds of tic-tac-toe on a wooden board
with slots for the X's and the O's
and didn't listen to a word she said
on the way home, me and amy were friends
and when i got to my yard, there was a dog.
