Such a simple, demeaning, evil, juvenile word
A term used on the playground when that mean boy steals your jump rope
the word that describes anything and everything you dislike
the name of that test you totally tanked

But in reality
it goes much deeper than it’s two-dimensional, 6-letter face
it penetrates the thickest of guards
it cuts down things more than twice its size
so that the strongest exteriors become the most perishable shells

It’s what we call ourselves everyday
when we forget our keys as we’re locking the door
or when we can’t remember how to spell the most basic words

Or when we sit in our rooms crying because everything we touch turns to dust

Not even dust
lives ground so fine that it’s more like a liquid
a thick poison that corrupts the insides
acidic, scalding, and deadly

Stupid

It’s the biggest of the words with the shortest of tempers
with the commonest use
and the bitterest consequences