The Drama of the Gifted Child

It starts when you’re in kindergarten
You’re different from the rest of the pack
You empathize with all your friends
There’s something in you that they lack
So with each year, you learn more and more
To you, it’s like they’re all falling behind
You’ve been gifted with something special
It’s an artistic and curious mind

You absorb everything around you
You’re seeing things you don’t want to see
You just want to be like a normal kid
To you, they seem so free
But your parents push you to succeed
All you want to do is go running wild
Thus begins the inner turmoil and conflict
It’s the drama of the gifted child

Your brothers & sisters don’t understand
They think you’re a bit of a geek
You’re uncoordinated at sports you try
So your scrawny body is a little weak
Your friends are all growing stronger
But your mind is wicked and keen
Without realizing it you’ve become
Less friendly and very mean

You start attacking everyone around you
By now, you’re juvenile so it makes sense
Teachers just blow it off as being normal
A typical teen can be a little intense
But inside you’re still that little one
In your mind, some trauma is filed
You then develop an outlet of anger
That’s the drama of the gifted child

Your parents are a little worried now
They look at what you’ve created
You’re psychoanalyzed and criticized
But deep down you’re just frustrated
They seek something that will heal you
So you’re asked to see a shrink
He puts you on a medication
That muddles your ability to think

You start seeing things you’ve never seen
And you lose the ability to feel
You question what you’ve known all your life
You assume what’s going on isn’t real
So you take a trip with your therapist
He navigates you through your past
But while he’s collecting his paychecks
You’re thinking his position should be recast

So you ask to see a different person
Someone who can handle who you are
Someone who will see what’s in you
Perhaps a trainer in a seminar
You shared all your issues with strangers
And they helped you solve every single one
But therein became another problem
Your dependence on them took out the fun

So you navigated through every position
You’ve made some mistakes along the way
You’ve understood what you needed to do
Now you live with your family in Monterey

You bought an art gallery in Carmel
When you can you go to the beach
You often ponder your next adventure
Perhaps now, you’re ready to teach
And you’re standing in line at the DMV
Waiting there feeling restless and mild
When you hear something inside you
It’s the drama of a gifted child

It’s the drama of a gifted child.

2016