The Wise Boy

He is eccentric

He is niave

How can one know so much

And so little?

All at once

He has the mind of fifty

The face of seventeen

As we sit at the night’s exhale,

He turns to me

Escape, he breathes

That is the only way

I pretend to understand

Still to this day.

The clouds begin to settle,

“This place is just a trap”

The moon emerges,

A child from a nap

“Let’s get out of here” he says

The sky never looked so blue

Our institution awaits us

We’re going to have to make do.

We saunter side by side

Our fate in loans and pencils

He shows no sign of fear

He says this is essential

Back at school we prepare

For a night just the same

A forty ounce, a baggie

We continue to play the game.