school

Mom, come pick me up from school.

It’s raining and I want a cup of tea.

And I’ve got things to say to you,

I hope you'll listen, there's so much to talk about,

Come pick me up from school.

...

My English teacher is pregnant again,

She told us in class today.

I wonder if her baby knows,

She delivered the news unsmiling.

(When our pastor said babies bring joy, was he lying?)

...

Can unwanted children tell?

When they’re born unwanted, I mean.

Does it bring that bit of extra pain,

To know that their parents wouldn't pick them up from school?

(Even if the day hung gray, heavy and sparking and cruel?)

...

I have some more things to say to you,

Did you know something happened in ‘72?

19 or 17 or 18, I don’t know,

But something important took place, would you like to hear?

(So many interesting things occur every year).

...

I learned about it in history class,

My teacher preached to the board scuffed with marker sins.

My classmates murmured together, voices raised like a choir.

Did you know that he’s getting a divorce?

(Is the ending of a love story for better or worse?)

...

I wonder if divorce is for the unloved,

Or else, the ones who loved too deeply to heal.

Would it hurt a person that much more,

If the love wasn’t even worth fighting for?

(And would you fight for me?)

...

Here’s another thing: I crave depression.

I welcome my sadness like a friend,

It comes and goes like ocean tides, like the cold cycle of the moon.

I yearn for the soft things it'll say,

(I think it loves me, in a way).

...

Did you know—hey, hey listen—do you know my science teacher?

He wanted to win a Nobel, it was his dream as a kid.

I wonder if dreams would hurt that much more deeply,

If someone else didn't support them too?

(You promised you would, can you pick me up from school?)

...

Are you listening? Sorry, I'm chatty today.

I'll be better later, I swear. Just, so much happened at school.

And so much happens in my head sometimes too.

I'm all wet, I had to walk in the rain, but that's okay,

(You’ll pick me up from school another day).