Left Behind in the Schoolyard

In school, learning

and countless hours of fear,

grades and assessments,

behavior, diligence, skill.

Even the body was shaped—

for the fat boy.

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Classmates judged

social skills and standing.

Teachers looked the other way,

only stepped in when fists were raised—

mental wounds were irrelevant,

the school psychologist’s concern—

for the fat boy.

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An insignificant detail:

family norms remained unchallenged.

Heavy meals of farm life,

hard labor expected,

unsuited for the bookworm—

who became the fat boy.

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The pinnacle of cruelty:

the gym teacher’s weapon—

"Pick your teams,

best players first."

We all knew

who would be left behind—

it was the fat boy.

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Many invisible wounds on the soul,

combined with another secret—

drawn to his own gender

in the confusion of puberty.

We knew nothing

of the pain their choices inflicted—

on the fat boy.