Middle School Poems
II
The
Dependable Locker
Rushing to get to
me,
You have to scream
and push.
You’re bumped and
kicked,
Scraped and
hit,
Just to get your
books.
When you’ve finally
reached me,
You find out that I’m
jammed and stuck.
So hard, you slam
your foot into me,
And turn the dial
again.
I open
up,
And you grab your
things.
Goodbye, you
say,
By giving me a
slam.
You dive into a
river
Of kids and teachers
too.
You’re gone,
disappeared,
But I know you’ll be
back soon
Because I have you’re
books and things
That you’ll need for
class.
You see, I am locker 1004.
As Soon as I
Find Out Who I Am
You’ll Be the
First to Know
I promise to send you a letter
Or call you on the phone
as soon as I find
myself.
I promise you’ll be the first to know.
But right now,
I’m having a hard time
Even communicating with me.
I just can’t seem to find
a language
or the right words to say,
to talk about my feelings
with you.
Tennis
Shoes
My shoes cost more
than everything else
on my whole body!
Some guys would
cut off my head
just to get
what’s on my feet!
The sad thing about it is,
my shoes are probably
not even their size.
Nonconformist
I don’t want to be anybody
but myself.
So, I shaved little lines
in my head and
dyed my hair purple
and green
(with just a hint of orange)
and pierced my nose and hung a gold earring in it,
AS AN EXPRESSION OF WHO I AM
(who am I?).
Of course,
I waited until someone else did it first.
I didn’t want anyone to think I’m
weird.
You know what I mean?
Jigsaw
I’ve been trying so hard to
fit in
that I’ve lost
parts of
myself.
Modern
Dating
I saw her in the hallway.
She was standing by her locker.
I only had a few minutes
to ask her that important question.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” she said.
“Look,” I said. “Uh, um, uh…”
“Do you want to go to the dance?” she said.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Can you pick me up at eight?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“That’s great,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah,” I said.
Oh, well, I guess I can borrow her history notes some other time.
Lunchroom
I was so hungry
I could have eaten my algebra book.
I smelled what we were having
Before I even saw it.
Mystery Meat, green mushy peas,
Instant potatoes with lumpy gravy,
Bread pudding, and milk.
It’s a good thing I like milk.
Pea
Brain
At our school
It’s cool to be stupid.
I don’t tell anyone
I make straight A’s.
I don’t know why
most guys prefer to think
that your brain is
the size of a pea.
an I help it if
my name is permanently
engraved on the
honor
roll?
The
Basket
I’ve been sitting on the bench almost the whole season.
Finally, the coach sent me in.
Some big guy practically mopped the court with me
so the referee called a foul.
He threw the ball to me so I could shoot.
My big moment. My big chance.
I was a sweaty mess.
I bounced the ball until someone yelled
“So shoot it already!”
I gripped the ball tightly
and pumped it up through the air.
The ball landed gently on the rim of the basket,
and slid through the net. YES!
I felt great!!
I know, I know it was the last ten seconds of
the final quarter,
and we were leading 110 to 66 anyway.
But it was the most important shot of the game
to me.