“Where did all the money go?”
a student asked me.

We need to cut millions from the budget?
Really?

Teacher layoffs?
Administrators, too?
No buses for the high school?
Which sports get cut?
Will the clubs and activities go too?
Not the arts, they wouldn’t cut the arts, would they?

or

“Why are they taking my role models?
My leaders
My exercise
My fun?”

“How can they expect me
to focus on metric conversion
and additive inverse
when outside my window
all I can see is
Doom and Gloom
and their stupid broom
going zoom-zoom
on all the rooms

of my life.”