Thomas Edison once said; "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."

When I was younger, my teacher gave an assessment to everyone in the class
It was a simple assessment
But when we turned them in, he gave each and every paper a big red F
And then proceeded to sit down and watch us react as the papers were passed back
He asked us, ‘What do you think F stands for?’
The loudest response was ‘Failure’
And he shook his head hypnotically and told us
‘F does not mean failure like most think, but instead, it means ‘Find Another Way’

Those simple words changed my perspective on the tiny institution known as school
Classrooms have remained the same for decades
But the subjects change, they advance as we make new discoveries
The material we learn today is different from what adults had to learn years ago
I could use a metaphor or personification
Or describe to you the exact chemical formula of KNO3 and what it stands for
I could tell you how biology is important; meiosis and mitosis
I could tell you the first shot of the American Civil War
Or who Alexander the Great and Napoleon were
Sally sells seashells by the seashore
That was an alliteration

Do not let an exam grade or an insignificant letter define your outlook on life
Find another way to earn your A
An A does not stand for awesome or amazing, it instead stands for acceptable
Twain once said; "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
I will not let an exam grade define my future
And you shouldn’t allow it to either
Decide on something that drives you
That motivates and ignites you with passion
Live for being content and happy; instead of successful yet depressed
Because what we take when we leave this world is not our possessions but it is our memories.

Edison was an a$$hole but Tesla a true gentleman of scientific  progress and even though they do not know we are simply looking through the papers of life''s nature;  life flows like

B u t t e r f l i e s --> and someday
rocks will sing ; 'we wish you love
and we wish you peace'
      yea
      oh yea
    oh yea
wish we lived within a better time than now     now-now
      no hearse pulls a u-hall behind it now-now
if you give it away give it all away i say
and moths have no feed-time on a closet of emptiness
   as empty heads require no hats -- there-there;
who wears a real hat these days?
    Sinking waters hold ships tighter than leather-
skin and she was a grand woman with
     a long neck and longer abdomen
-- forgive the orchids for they ate her and spat up
fluorescent pink angel hair.

::02.22.2020::

No we're not learning about inventors.
No we're not learning about scientists.
If we were, that would be great,
But we're not,
Instead we're learning about lying thieves,
And overrated ones at that.
We should be learning about real inventors,
That didn't steal ideas from others,
And were lucky enough not to have ideas stolen from them,
Like George Westinghouse.
We should be learning about real inventors,
And real scientists,
That sadly went unrecognized,
Because their ideas were stolen,
By so called inventors,
That were in reality total jerks,
Like Nikola Tesla,
And Rosalind Franklin.
However, instead of learning about true inventors like them,
We're learning about the likes of Thomas Edison,
Guglielmo Marconi,
James Watson,
And Francis Crick.
Here's a "fun fact" about Thomas Edison,
He promised Nikola Tesla 50 grand,
In exchange for fixing his machines.
However, when Nikola Tesla was finished,
Several months later,
He not only didn't pay Tesla,
He mocked him for asking,
He said that he was joking,
And according to some, he was offered a raise of 10 dollars
According to others, he asked for a raise, and was denied it,
Either way, Tesla quit.
Here's a "fun fact" about Guglielmo Marconi,
He didn't invent the radio,
Nikola Tesla did.
However, Marconi pulled an Edison,
And stole Tesla's invention from him.
Luckily, although sadly too late,
Tesla was rewarded the patent.
Here's a "fun fact" about James Watson and Francis Crick,
They took credit for Franklin's discovery.
Why do we have to sit in social studies,
Listening to Youtube videos,
And reading books,
And doing plays,
That people created for school kids,
About so called inventors.
When instead,
We could be reading books,
Listening to Youtube videos,
And doing plays,
That we created ourselves,
About real inventors.
I want to get a real education.
I want to learn about the truth,
Instead of lies.
So please teachers,
Principals,
Superintendents,
Common Core Professionals,
State Test Professionals,
Please let us learn about the truth,
Please don't make us learn about lies.

Striked kite
-lightning bolt-
key: string
rod electricity

How Edison and Tesla warred
To be the first to capture light.

A replacement for fire
And an ode to the sun.

Guiding travelers
Across sky, land, and seas.

Balming my hungry skin with rays
When I’m jonesing for the sunshine.

Bringing life to what was once still
Shadows dance across glowing plains.

Illumination to our world
No longer constrained by dawn and dusk.

The power of storms harnessed
To fuel our weapon against the dark.

Transcending to be hopes beacon
Against all fear.

Miniaturized to be as small as a dot
Oh how we hunger for our light.

Since time unknown I wanted a mutt
No Lego, No Hershey , would make me stop
A golden lab, only, could break the rut
Which i could feed and sit atop.

Mother worried for the allergies and the fleas,
the constant bark, dirt and spit.
I swore to keep him up in trees
and silent like a lonely pit.

We got a pup and named it Edison,
he did not explicitly, discover electric light.
All he had was poo and medicine
No wonder his tummy was never right.

Every time a ****, he let away
With each paw he dug to dig.
At midnight as others lay
He ate on like a pig.

One night a robber, dull and round,
hauled himself across the yard;
And then onto some furry ground,
where the cur lay, his fat splayed, somehow, somewhat, on guard.

A brawl ensued, boy, there was blood!
the thief bit him and he bit back.
Now, i have two graves in the mud,
of Edison and of Jack.