Something is rotten in high school.
The students are candid and raw
Like a slab of rank meat
That has been sitting on the counter for a few days.
The meat is unavoidable.
Something about talking is rotten.
They talk and don’t consider.
Or they consider too much.
They don’t consider that other people talk.
It isn’t just them.
No one keeps secrets.
Caring is rotten.
They talk about things that are useless.
They care about things that don’t matter.
They pry and they tell and they spread.
They don’t
Want to be out of the loop.
Being out of the loop is rotten.
They care because they want to be a part of something.
They want to be involved.
They don’t want to be alone.
They don’t
Want to be out of the loop.
Something in the teenage brain is rotten.
That gushy pink slimy material that should be housing questions
On why the sky is blue and
What happened in history during the 1930s in Senegal is instead
Housing questions on why that girl was crying
In the hall today
Between third and fourth period.
The societal brain is rotten.
It has been poisoned.
It has decayed.
Growing up is rotten.
It is just a stage of growing up,
It is our society growing from infants
To men and women.
It is our society growing down.
Is our history rotten?
Were
Teenagers decades ago acting the same way?
It could be a generational thing.
This is a part of evolution, or better yet,
The beginning of the apocalypse.
An apocalypse would be rotten.
The girls become savage
Like in “Mean Girls” at the fountain.
The whole globe breaks out into a fight.
Knives thrown,
Guns shot,
Girls and boys wrestle and punch.
In fifty years I hope our high school won’t be rotten.
My dad reminisces on the good ol’ days.
High school has changed.
The girls were still gossiping and doing hair
And make up back then.
The guys were still flirting
And trying to be men.
Something is high school must be rotten
In our day and age,
In our society,
In our teenagers.
It can’t be cleaned up.
I love that this voice that rants and doesn't try to resolve the pitfalls of society, but also offers these small glimpses into high school life. My favorite stanza:
ReplyDeleteSomething in the teenage brain is rotten./That gushy pink slimy material that should be housing questions/On why the sky is blue and/
What happened in history during the 1930s in Senegal is instead/Housing questions on why that girl was crying/In the hall today/Between third and fourth period.
Nice work.
I really liked this poem when you sent it to me, you posted it before I had a chance to help you revise, sorry about that! But I wouldn't have been able to add much, it already presented some really interesting ideas. I really like the imagery in the first stanza, but my favorite part is the repetition in the 3rd and 4th.
ReplyDeleteI love that you describe this experience with such gross imagery as "rotten." It definitely creates the idea that you are trying to get across. I love the parts that everyone has seen happening and are so realistic: "that girl was crying/ In the hall today/Between third and fourth period." You say a lot through this poem.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this poem, even though it was particularly long it didn't lose my attention. I like the fact that the person didn't try to sugar coat anything they said exactly what they ment. That todays society is changing for the worst. I think it was a great poem I thought the part were they talked about society back in the day really showed a clear picture to how our lives are changing. Great Job !
ReplyDeleteAll I can think of when I read this is lyrics. I almost can think of a melody to accompany it right now. It flows extremely well and has enough repetition to be perfect for a song. Song or not, this is a fantastic poem.
ReplyDelete