tough

when i was a kid
my father signed me
up for
tae-kwon-do

and i went to practice
every week
and did
pushups on my fists
to make me
stronger.

i fought hard and
earned a
yellow belt
before long.

i thought i knew a
thing or two
about fighting and being tough,
so when the sensei
told us we were
going to a
tae-kwon-do match
i got excited and
figured i would clean up.

my first match was
against a large
(extremely large)
fat girl.

she was almost as tall
as i was,
and i was very tall
for my age,
but she out-weighed
me by 40 pounds
easy.

and she pummelled
me.

she taught me a thing
or two about being
tough
and she made me cry.

i quit tae-kwon-do
soon after and
have been afraid of women
ever since.

–published in remark.