All my classmates
bypass me in the halls, never calling my name. Dragging my feet on the ground, embarrassed, I walk all alone, frantically trying to get to class. Getting out of the halls is all I want. Juggling my books, keeping to myself, leaving everyone behind, moving on with the day, nobody caring about me, offering up my best but everyone passing by every time, not saying a word. Quitting and not caring anymore resulted from my situation. Saving me was not an option; trying became too hard. Usually I would have put my very best foot forward, but now I was a wilting flower or a broken, forgotten, and useless xylophone. You sometimes don’t notice how hard this world can be. A zoo is what it is. A zoo I desperately want to leave. |
Emily Bonnett says this poem depicts "The struggles of everyday life in schools for teenagers." The editors felt this piece epitomized how every student feels at one point or another of their high school career. Bonnett was able to craft a poem within the restraints of the challenge in a way that made the editors forget it was an abecedarians until the end. Emily Bonnett is in 11th grade at Regina High School.