i wrote this poem when i was a senior in high school. alternative school was a form of solitary confinement (as an alternative to suspention). an escort was required if you had to leave your 'cell' for any reason. even the windows had big black curtains so that no light could come in. we were given incredible amounts of school work that we had to complete within eight hours.

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On Alternative School ©
by Elizabeth Trent

Locked Away.
Cast Aside.
Silent, Slumbering Solitude
To transformate my attitude;
eliminate perchance escape
and bend my twisted mind in shape

"Oh Weep! You wicked fools!"
They sneer
(They think we cringe and quake with fear)
"And learn your lesson!
Serve your time!
We won't accept your petty crime."

And now I laugh so silently
inside of me.
And though they think confinement brings
submissive wills and kills the evil force
called individuality,
my mind is free
and soars so high
it leaps beyond the minor limitation of the sky

Your filthy chains
Your empty brains
Your taunt and tightened tourniquets
to frustrate future graduates
and draped out sun are all in vain
and therefore you've achieved no gain

You know you cannot cage the wind
(although I'm sure you'll try again)
Simple minded fools.
You think Utopia dwells in schools.

© copyright: elizabeth trent All rights reserved