Inadequate

As though it were written on my forehead,

my mother measures me in the weight of it

it is in my bones, whittled away by bad blood

and chipped by my choices.

As though it were my name,

inadvertently, my mother whispers this new name

to me as she bids me good night,

Another year without a degree?

When are you graduating again?

What is your major again?

What can you do with English again?

Inadequate,

mediocre,

immeasurable,

all are the same

I am not enough.