Staying Educated

We come to school every day for 12 years

12 years of shoveling information into our minds
In hopes that we renew the information
12 years of plastic chairs and squeaky tables
Heads on desks lucid dreaming of a warm breeze kissing your cheek
12 years of hands raised like the white flag on the battlefield
Because at some point the war must end
Eccentric teachers who can’t afford their student loans
Dancing in front of a sleep-deprived audience
A veil of disappointment draped over their demeanor
Communal bathrooms crowded
Fog thick like the Everglades
Every woman fighting for survival in a jungle of wild animals
Survival of the fittest body
Pretty eyes
Or longest hair
Survival of those who attack the demeanor of others
Laying siege to the weary unconventional hoard of insecurities