You sit with eyes forward and shoulders slumped
As Teacher drones, in her monotone, on and on
About…nothing at all important while her plumped
Body roams around the room. Stifle a yawn
Before she notices. Eye contact is not to be maintained,
Or you risk drawing attention. The absolute best
Thing to do? Keep your thoughts tightly contained
Within the back of your mind and put to rest
Those fantasies that are begging to claim every last
Ounce of your attention. That cannot be permitted.
Oh, but I know how easy it is. How easy it would be to cast
Responsibility aside and give in. Yes, fitted
In your mind are a thousand possibilities and
Imaginings that are not to be ignored.

And suddenly, you find yourself in the open
Ocean with bare feet planted on the wooden, rocking
Deck beneath you. You feel the warm and unbroken
Grip of a gleaming sword in your hand. Dozens of men flocking
About you and it couldn’t feel more natural. Half of them are
Yellow with scurvy and all of their faces hold
Rotting teeth and blood shot eyes with a far
Away look in them. The ship’s rocking increases tenfold
And you realize that these men are not your enemy when
Dozens of slimy pillars are thrust into the air from the deep.
Self-proclaimed atheists beg to the heavens with an “Amen”
While you grin, tighten your grip, and leap
Into the midst of everything.
And you wake up.

Teacher stands before you, stern look securely in place.
She’s asked you a question, the same one many times.
You give an answer, not really caring if it’s right, and brace
Yourself for her reaction. She exhales into the confines
Of the classroom and stalks back to the front. You have won
This time, her sigh seems to say and you can’t help but feel
Smug. You resolve to avoid another such confrontation and press on
As Teacher continues her monotone. Oh, but the appeal
To go back is strong. Too strong and you have to wonder
Where the action and adventure you’ve dreamed
About all your life is hiding. When you were a younger
You, everything was excitement, not a dull moment streamed
Through your afternoons. And now? Here you sit, with Teacher’s
Droning in the background, resorted to daydreaming.

The greatest excitement of your week is knowing that it’s finally
Friday and you’ve got the grandest thing ahead of you.
The weekend. And what will you do? Explore the grand dynasty
Of the internet and sleep and sleep and sleep. What have you come to?
You were young and could find adventure holding a stick
In your backyard. It was a sword, a wand, a lever
To some powerful device that only you could operate. You’d pick
Weeds that looked like flowers and suddenly you were forever
A princess waiting for her true love to come and the real
Fun would start. Your future was wide open
And the possibilities were endless. You were going steal
Treasure or be an astronaut, a firefighter, a cowboy, and the words spoken
To you over and over and over again was that you can be
Anything. But you can’t. Real life isn’t as fun as you thought.