Jenny's Growing Pains

Mother, before you get upset
About this mess

I would like to inform you
That I am having growing pains

Now, I don't want to alarm you
As they only just started recently
And so far, I've been dealing with them fairly well

Mr. Bear has reccomended me to a specialist
Who can, allegedly, work wonders

The mess you are seeing, however
Is not the result of a misbehaving child
But rather, the side effects
Of a very serious condition

The doll clothing flung throughout the room
Is simply my way of coming to terms
With my gender limitations

So much pressure is put on young women, Mother
Surely you must be aware of that

You can't blame me for wanting to strip off those limitations
And throw them all around my room
With reckless abandon

The food smeared on the walls
Is simply a six-year-old
Dealing with the influence the media has on me
When it comes to what I eat

I looked at that brownie you tried feeding me yesterday
And something inside me snapped

The next thing I knew
I was raiding the kitchen for pre-made frosting
And covering my dollhouse in it

Barbie is to blame for all this rage, isn't she?
Why shouldn't she suffer for it?

As for the dirt pile in the corner
That was my way of trying to reconnect with the Earth
To try to come to an understanding
About life and death
About the ground
Into which I will one day be placed
Many, many, many years after you are, Mother

All this is simple psychology
As Mr. Bear explained to me

I would love to help you clean up
But I'm afraid it might cause me to have flashbacks
To my unfortunate episode
And where would that get us?

Not far at all

I appreciate your empathy, Mother
And as soon as you're done tidying all this up
I look forward to having a conversation with you about it
In the living room

Just please try to be quiet
In the event that I'm watching 'Sally the Sea Lion'

It's my favorite cartoon
And I have so few moments to myself
These days