A pretense or simulation,

Of my future life to come,

Left within these worksheets,

And textbooks, of some,

Is life beyond this testing?

From where do these thoughts come?

As if a day of school weren't enough,

A night of reflection takes place,

Straight from the textbook,

And at my own pace,

But it matters not, what pace I choose,

I am left sleepless in any case.

In the end, my mind is restless,

As I whisper thoughts aloud,

Any who view from outside,

Question my sanity at the sound,

For society, I am not fit,

As my eyes wander around.

Sleeping comes, and sleeping goes,

But dreams remain forever,

Locked away by the mind,

To drift away to nether,

For a dream, shall you remember,

Won't be recalled forever,

I awake as my dream bleeds to reality,

And I must continue, mindlessly,

Unto the day before me. - Z.H. (10th grade)