Ode to the Blackboard

  

You don’t know me, not more than hello
Not more than the tests, and the essays and so
I don’t owe you anything.
There you stand, tall and proud
Talking, talking just so loud
About nothing.
Nothing.
What does it matter? What you have to say?
What’s the difference? What have you changed?
What do you know? Really, what?
Past all of the problem solving and such.
What about life? What about me?
What about what happens when we all leave?
When that classroom door closes and the lights go out,
What have you changed about my self doubt?
What have you taught me, more than to work
No matter how deeply, terribly it hurts?
What do you preach but to do anyway
All that you order? What can I say?
Could I tell you I walk out that door everyday
And brave endless the hallway of judgement and pain,
And across a street filled with aimless faces,
And down a road to tragic places?
And all you can ask is where....
Where is the work, dont I even care?
Well maybe I don’t, but could you ever know why?
Do you know how I feel in this room with these eyes?
What does it matter, if I can find X or Y,
If I name the year Rome falls or man flys,
If I walk down the aisle to the march with my peers,
If you never taught me how to face my fears?
How to stand for whats right and to be who I am,
How to hold my head high and stick to my plans.
What have you taught me that means anything,
When you never bother to know more than my name?
What is the difference? What have you changed?
 

  

Comments

Additional Resources

Get AI Feedback on your poem

Interested in feedback on your poem? Try our AI Feedback tool.
 

 

If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741