Students are headed back to school. For many, that’s in a virtual way. For almost all, it’s different than last fall. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Poem For A Rising Freshman
this was the year i was going to make it
leave my middle school behind
reinvent myself, or at least try to fake it
put my failures right out of my mind
never had many friends, i was so far from cool
but this year i swore that would change
now the waves of relief and disappointment
are making me feel deranged
when you’re young, with anxiety & depression
what you year for you still fear to get
and now that all that’s been put off for awhile
i’m wishing that i could forget
every moment of cringe-worthy misstep
every dumb thing that i said
i just want to restart my whole life already
why else would i get out of bed
and then on my second ever zoom class
i get a DM from a face
i saw lurking down in the corner
like me, she seemed out of place
she asks me if she is the only one
who thinks this whole school sitch
sucks balls
and suddenly from nowhere i’m wondering
will this year be so bad after all…