Educational Fear

Words have been said to him,
And they resonate through his head over and over
Like a long annoying noise that won’t leave your mind.
He lies in his bed.
Silently in front of the faded Metallica poster,
And he wonders how he can go on.

Like Muhammad Ali he fights his hardest
Trying to be strong
In the mental version,
Of the training he sees world class body builders do.
He’s always been nice,
Even though it is sometimes seen as weakness for a boy.
But he has never done anything wrong,
Except once he ate a few M&M’s in math class,
When they were learning about probability and percentage.

He has been left unnoticed,
For long periods of time.
Starting to think of things out of line,
Like things he can’t comprehend or understand.
Of actions never seen in everyday life,
But imbedded in his memory due to countless hours,
Of staring at a fixed object with thousands of dots.
Where each one works like an ant in a farm,
To produce lies for that which rules and lies to all.

His mind is made up,
As no room for doubt exists.
He thinks he’s got everything figured out,
But in truth an illusion of power,
Is all that calms his tantalizing nerves.
The next school day,
Was not like the rest,
As students lie strewn across the floor,
With one or two bullets in breast.

Fear fills hallways,

Like smoke from a fire
Everyone’s screaming,
Like one giant choir
And finally the authorities come,
To take him away
Until this all happens
Again another day

Gordon Severson