august and everything after…

the Sun sticks to the
pavement
rises into the soles of my feet
Georgia heat
Summer is over
as i enter the hallway
frigidly preparing for the
two thousand students
enjoying their last few minutes of
freedom
before lockers, schedules, cliques, dances, games, homework, parent conferences, papers, new clothes, semester finals, pop quizzes, crowded hallways, new friends, old friends, not good enough, the best, school spirit, no spirit, worn out teachers, apathy

Consumes

the next nine months of their life.

busily, i ready myself for the beginning…
my favorite part:  starting fresh
i vow to
Smile more
Get frustrated less
Engage more
Gripe less
Listen more
Talk less

if only for a moment.

somehow, the summer heat fades into
the soggy autumn leaves left on the ground for someone to
Crinkle

the smell of football friday night
overtakes my senses

Holiday Season appears and disappears
in a flash of homemade cookies, candy canes, gift cards
Amidst
Midterms, final grades, last ditch efforts and request for extra credit

the New Year brings a
New Semester

new promises that are kept for the first three weeks and then
Abandoned like their parents’
Resolutions

And we wait out the third quarter in practical silence
sleep deprivation, depression from the
gray Inclement Weather
starring at us from outside the windows

until finally,

Spring
warms the chill but brings an itch, desire
to be out looking in
can’t Concentrate (actually, couldn’t before)
biding the next few weeks, days, hours, seconds until the bell rings for
Spring Break

Why must we go back?

testing, final grades, can you pass at the last minute
one more novel, two more papers
why are we still working

Can’t we have a free day?

until finally,

the moment comes when the bell rings
lockers are toussed
students run the halls – free for eight weeks

until the summer heat gets hot enough

to welcome us back.