4 PM, Dismissal
4 PM, Dismissal
Since when, she asks.
I don’t know. Maybe it was when you raised your hand lightly and said Ma’am, that is incorrect, and she actually listened. Or you, kneeling down on the rain-spoilt grass, collecting what was left of your science experiment, while your groupmates watched beneath the shed, with empty hands and empty heads.
Or it was your lithe body stretching sideways during gym class, Thursday afternoon; drops of sweat dripped from your chin while the unimportant noises mourned for a lost goal.
But that’s wrong, she says, and she lets go of my shoulders as if they burn. That's really wrong.
The sun wounds my skin, like
He's trying to kill me with
a gentle hand.
It's hot, isn't it, I answer, clutching the folds of my skirt.
Since when, she asks.
I don’t know. Maybe it was when you raised your hand lightly and said Ma’am, that is incorrect, and she actually listened. Or you, kneeling down on the rain-spoilt grass, collecting what was left of your science experiment, while your groupmates watched beneath the shed, with empty hands and empty heads.
Or it was your lithe body stretching sideways during gym class, Thursday afternoon; drops of sweat dripped from your chin while the unimportant noises mourned for a lost goal.
But that’s wrong, she says, and she lets go of my shoulders as if they burn. That's really wrong.
The sun wounds my skin, like
He's trying to kill me with
a gentle hand.
It's hot, isn't it, I answer, clutching the folds of my skirt.