A Poor Kid Deserves Opportunity Too (Poem)

by , posted on Sunday, March 31st, 2013 at 7:29 pm

Reflections from Newark Community High School, March 31st 2013

Driving by I stopped to stare and remember…

The squeak of gym shoes on polished hardwood floors
Rolled jeans and clanking metal locker doors

My older brother and friends thinking they were cool
Sneaking a smoke behind the brick school

The first Apple IIe with green letters blinking
Learning code, tabbing, no clicking

My first psych paper questioned corporate advertising in school
Sociology, I learned I was part of a class – bottom of the economic pool

A solitary study hall in the librarians’ backroom, studying or sleeping
The Librarian knew no 17-year old should be full-time working

I know she was proud when I got my ACT scores and acceptance letter
Teachers dug deep, earning their scholarship – a shot at something better…

Now I know why I spend so much time fighting for this beautiful relic
Opportunities, our schools – keep them strong, keep them public

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