I sit on a piece of plastic
Metal bars fused to a rectangle of wood.
I see my future ahead of me
Who is there to tell me I can’t?
I sit amongst classmates and dreams
Tell me a textbook has all the answers
I say bull****.
The answers are between the lines
And between the times
That 12 point font
And a grade at the top of the page
Can define a concept,
Like the writing on the wall
And the writing on the board.
Try not to appear bored
While outside the birds chirp and the sun shines.
The low drone of an air conditioning system
Try not to listen
While you’re missing the lecture,
Trying to picture a future
Based off of present participles and the Pythagorean Theorem.
Why not reach us life skills?
Confidence?
How to look for a job that in this society doesn’t exist
For a just 18 beauty queen
Who dozes through class
Dreaming of roses
And a splash of color on her cheeks.
Her photo got 500 likes
Well who gives a s***
When every second brings us closer to the time we die.
Smile for the camera
And your ID will proclaim your identity
And who the system says you are.
Sure the signs above the classroom call out to you,
When they claim to care about your destiny,
But who will follow your dreams
When your means of achieving them
Are as hazy as the grade at the top of your page?
And what does it matter anyway?
When my mind can only retain as much as another sixteen year old brain can,
When I’m trying to breathe with equations and formulas
And I’m trying to see but my eyes go blurry,
Why am I learning all this stuff that means nothing?
And my mind is burning
From the fire the teachers attempt to ignite,
But we fight back!
We want to control our own minds!
E=mc2 would be nice to learn if anyone cared.
We dare to branch out to discover ourselves,
Even though the school tries to lock us up in cells.
We retreat into our shells
And wait for the bell…
Ding! Ding! Ding!
To escape from this hell.