Monday, October 25, 2010

A Sub’s Day

On the bus with the sad, the disaffected, the forlorn
They stare at the passing concrete
Lost in empty thoughts, dreading another lost empty day
Walk a few blocks to the school through an industrial area
Cold and unwelcoming
Yesterday’s dreams litter the sidewalks
Desolate minds create this blighted version of life
Cawing of crows an appropriate accompaniment
The job is at a school for rejects in a rejected district
The flotsam of the jetsam of other schools
Angry or stoned or bored or beaten 
Or all that and more
Failure permeates as they share a desperate destiny of defeat
Can’t fool ‘em about it either
Already bitter at 17, cynical, savvy
Resigned to lifetimes of loss
If they think about it
So they avoid thinking
At all
These are young veterans of jousts with police, judges and parole officers
School a safe haven, a place to share war stories and to hatch plans, and to chill
For a precious few, it’s an avenue of escape, a last chance
I’m stoic, silent but flexible
Showing no fear, nothing
Ready and glad to help
Putting in a day’s work, frustrated that I can’t do more
Anxious to leave though
Go home to a place where smiles beam sincerely
And pleasantries are exchanged freely
Where there is a trust and hope and eager anticipation 
Of another day

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