The Normalcy of A School Day

by - March 31, 2020

photo: Arcadia, CA

I can't say I miss the vicious cycle

of getting ready for school
when I don't remember turning off my alarm
but end up scrambling unsuccessfully to
change-brushteeth-getdressed-eat-getout
or the moment in the car
when I look down at my clothes
and find them horribly mismatched

What I do miss
is the breath of fresh air 
the sunlight just
breaking through the clouds
filtered through emerald leaves
the bite of a chilly breeze
on my face
when I get to school
two minutes late
the students all rushing 
like silver minnows
this way and that
in bustling silence
the moment I revel
in how happy
even a mundane
Monday morning
makes me feel
what I dork I am
strolling through the halls
smiling at just the pure joy
of being alive

I even miss
the blaring bell
that keeps me on schedule
and snaps me out
of my reverie 
orders me into a stale classroom
filled with dissonant music
created by exhausted teenagers
just trying to get through the day
The magic wears off
after I cheerfully greet my friends
and I join the tired masses

each class has it's silver lining
that usually has nothing
to do with the subject itself
a friend perhaps
that always makes me smile
or maybe just the fact
that i can lay my heavy head
on the graffitied desk
tracing the carved initials
of students long gone
and tell myself
that I will make it out

the passing periods
are what I long for most
when I see glimpses
of passing faces
that are not the ones
of people I live with
I might smile a hello
at a passing friend
spot a familiar backside
up ahead
speed walking
catching up
until we are side by side
i once saw a dandelion floating 
above all of our heads
catching a whispered wish
all I thought about
was trying to squash
all the flowery fantasies
but already writing
a new poem
more often though
i'm just thinking about
how screwed I am
for next period's exam


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