Time for Recess
Those three words alone
could make the ears of every student
perk up like a dog told it’s going for a walk.


Every day, every year


until 7th grade


when the replacement for recess is shoving you


outside into the cold after lunch to stand on the unfriendly concrete.
The instant you pass through the door frame,
it’s a dead sprint to your favorite activity.
Monkey bars, kickball, four square, tetherball,
digging in the rocks, sliding down the slide.


Then, high school.


Stuck inside


seven hours a day,


no fresh air


unless you must trek


to the annex.
Having the time of your life
until you hear the two loud screeches of the whistle,
and it’s time to line up.
Sprinting, again, to be the first in line.


There’s a reason high school students


are always talking to their friends during class


and being rowdy.


We need to hear those three words again.