Today is the day I will read my poem to the class
and I will stand up here in front of you all.
I might be nervous, I might be scared,
but I'll hide my fear with a smile.
That's what's being professional is right?
Isn't that what everyone expects?

But what no one expects
Or what will be a surprise
Is if someone speaks the truth.
The truth is, we are hurting.
Not one, but all of us.

At least one million people commit suicide each year
But we are learning about our outside well-being rather than the inside.
Some kids are out here with their parents divorced
and they still come out of their rooms with their fake smiles.
Some people are being beaten at home so they have to wear long sleeves in the summer.

You don't have to be a superhero to have a disguise
because people walk past you everyday
with the best masks of them all.
Under those smiles
are the deepest tear stains
that they try not to acknowledge.

That's not the problem though, is it?
No one asks these people
How are you doing?
How have you been?
Fine
And that's that.
No follow up questions.

What you don't understand is ..
They WANT you to ask more questions
They WANT you to see that they are hurting
They WANT to feel better but they can't do it on their own

How is mx+b going to make their stop flowing?
How is figurative language going to stop the yelling from their parents?
How is the Civil War going to stop the bruises from being put on their arms?
How is the unit of measurement going to keep us alive another day?

It's not.
All that is, is a distraction.
Might keep us away from the things that hurt us but what about after that?
We are right back where we started

And the cycle starts again.