Learning the Alphabet

A lot of poems are about love,

But some aren’t, she said

Can you write me a poem?, my teacher asked

Don’t make it rhyme, dig deep into your

Existential ideas

Fear not discovering who you are

Great, I think

How do I even write a poem?

I don’t know how to dig deep,

Jackie is writing about her mom

Kelly is writing about her dog

Lucy told me to write about sports, but

My heart just isn’t in it

No one else seems to have this problem

Only I seem to think that

Poetry should be more than just words on paper

Quietism might be needed for me to write a poem, I

Reach back quietly and

Sit in the back of the class contemplating

The meaning of life and

Unable to fathom how I would put that in words

Vanessa just finished her poem

Wow I don’t know what to do

Xavier said to copy it out of a book, but I am honorable so I’ll take a

Zero, Mrs. Smith