Elementary Education

Elementary Education

Chicken nuggets dragged me by my nostrils

As I carefully stepped over every gap in the cement

Speckled with the ABC gum of a hundred fourth graders

My teacher cooing behind us

Brooding over her clutch, wearing a macaroni blue jacket

The cool kids were smoking candy cigarettes

I preferred skittles, but now I crave the chalky cloud

Like a teacher’s pet stamping erasers




I worried about my dollar ten lunch

I liked apple jelly with my peanut butter, not concord grape

That flavor was a last resort for anyone without money

Now I think less of the jelly and more about the bread

I want to salt my soup less, and have

Nap time every day again, so I can dream

Of flying over fences

Grinning a rainbow of gummi worm guts

Holding a girl’s hand without hesitation,

My arm sore from a daily cootie shot

I want to pluck the stars from the sky

And put them back on A papers