Star687

Come climb the willow tree,

up the weeping branches,

Claudio, from that play we read

years ago in school,

he climbed the willow tree

to make a garland for himself,

I am angry at the world 

I am angry at it’s injustice 

I am angry at America 

I am angry that we let this happen 

I am angry at everyone

I do what I’m told

I have friends

I try my best

But it isn’t enough

I ninety feels bad

A failure

But for some people it’s a win

I don’t want to squash their victory

I don’t know how to feel

“Stop being a nerd”

“You’re the smartest kid in the grade”

“You’re a child prodigy”

“You’re an academic weapon”

Okay.

Fine.

Maybe I am.

But 

My grades

or winning a kahoot

there are all the things I could do with three minutes alone in my room

I have an essay to write and Hebrew to study

I have things to look up and notifications to check

At school we draw in the margins of our notebook paper

and toy with the idea of moving to Australia. 

We look up the latest news in between classes, knowing that

the teachers will think we're addicted to our phones.