elementary

settle in, settle
down, children; know
that detentions are passed out
at the sight of
an untucked shirt or
unruly behavior... hour
by hour with the
dunce cap on your head
til you've learned
(even though mistakes,
however unfortunate,
tend to repeat themselves
at vain and egocentric
children); know that
as you grow up
(whatever that means)
you will have less
and less margin
for those mistakes,
especially when done
to the same person
over and over again...
know that the heroes
you love are also
the villians you hate, which
eventually will translate
into your relationships,
too; know
that age isn't wisdom
and youth isn't innocence,
and the only way to
be immortal is if
people talk about your life
after you're gone.
no, children, your
days here are lucky
and fleeting and
if you manage, you will
one day know all these things
before you have lost
everyone in your world
that means something to you.
in the meantime,
turn to page 357 and read
chapter six, "the
psychological remnants
of abandonment".

~k.