Men in black guarded the gates
Leading to where they call hell
A large building with corridors
Rooms that waste hours of time
The men shut the black gates
From behind my shaking back
I start my day's sentence

I'm in the winding corridors
Hearing a young girl cry far away
Another few words of hate
Tossed at her pretty face as usual
Yet the headmaster doesn't care

A boy is walking nearby me
He has a black eye and a nose
Streaming a waterfall of blood
His body littered with bruises
Another one suffering from abuse
From fellow prison immates
And his own kindly parents
Yet the teachers don't care
What kind of educators are they?

We learn things we already knew
Is brainwashed into forgetting
Our fractions and subtracting
Turning into loneliness and dread
And adding our depression levels
Dividing our energy down
And multiplying our confusion

Panic attacks our brains and
We don't know what's coming
A test by writing a story
An essay or even a ramble
Or knowing scientific facts
That we probably won't need
Apart from if you like science

I stare out the window
Dreaming of a classroom
Filled with freedom and love
Songs and poetry and dancing
Playing with words
Not planning a story before
We touch the ****** pen

But now we are birds in cages
Ready to sing our song
As the old writer in his chair says

“ how can a bird born for joy
Sit in a cage and sing? ”

But what is the answer?
No one knows