MEASURING TAPE

You, the Queen, I, the crumb 'neath the table—

Non-existent

till you heard them exclaim I was beautiful

smart and talented.

And then you noticed, startled.

Is that when

you started measurement points

next to my natural growth points?

For each time I lost, I shrunk in your eyes

once again

to the crumb on the floor.

For each time I won

you pretended you didn't know...

Did it help ease the pain of when you felt you didn't 'measure up?'

 

So absorbed in your game

of measuring up and down my measurements

you forgot your own—

that you were beautiful too!

And smart and talented.

Futile traits now I guess—'cause

you are now just a Measuring Tape.

I wish I knew how to set you free of your misery—

from the price you've paid for knowing me.

And I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you

albeit unwittingly for I was only a child

Even now

I wouldn’t know how to try though...'cause

I still don't know how to measure.