forever the quiet kid

Are you paying attention, child?
Put the book aside...
and your art supplies away.
I require a focused classroom
and it is time to do
your work.


Math has always been
so hard for me
and in my head
I am walking around the perimeter of the playground
alone at recess
looking for insects or perhaps
salamanders.
Careful, pick them up with a wet leaf
and do it gently because
it is wrong to hurt animals
so small and vulnerable.


I don't like group projects
because the other children
treat me like an animal
I would rather be
building fairy houses
at the base of a large oak
with branches that stretch out against
the blue of the sky
and keep the light of the sun away.
Look, acorns
we can use the tops for fairy bowls.