The Boys Who Sit At the Back of the Class And Do Not Smile

The boys at the back of the class who do not smile arrange themselves in clumps, clods stuck together and

afraid to break away from eachother’s

pockets.

They have sat congealed to one another through

Hours upon hours of lecture, their eyes glazed, puffed
and almost bovine. Jaws their droopy and

full of the wasted hours spent
[-ing] copying
listening
repeating.

(Barely) thinking.

The boys at the back of the class who do not smile never
raise their hand. Call on them to speak No speak foreign.
Cell phone games and whispers ease
The ticking time to where
Soccer is played

“Jazz June” the time now
It will all end in tears