Vulnerable

At school

we're doing a poetry unit.

"Oh cool, we write poetry all the time!"

My friend says.

What we didn't realize, though,

was that the teacher turned on the tap

to our inner selves

and let it flow out

onto paper,

documents online,

until we were

empty

hollow

dry.

My poetry doesn't come out right

at school

and why would we feel

comfortable

in such a hostile environment?

Even the teachers hate our classmates.

Why

should we express our

deepest selves

in an unsafe environment?

Everything goes wrong at school

when I'm vulnerable.