What you do is send your soul off to school.
You know the day will come. You dread it in a way,
selfishly wanting the child to stay at home, but you know
there comes a time. So all neatly dressed and ready as
you’ll ever be, shoes without a scuff, Big Chief pad,
two pencils and a pink eraser, clutch of coins
for lunch or sandwich in a bag and off you go.
What you do is learn. It doesn’t matter what, but learn
some subject other than yourself so fine and heretofore
unknown you fall in love with learning
and the subject grows within your soul until
you’re filled almost to the top and overflow.
Then your soul comes back to you
with a report card you’ll have to sign
and homework and questions you can’t
answer and you will be so proud,
because your soul is becoming educated
and passing where you failed.
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