The Student

The Student

The young man left school to see the world,
but found sunken cheeks
and sore, sleepy mornings

found soul-less afternoons
operating machines
alongside workers in half-sleep

heard the drone of giant fans
all around
and saw bright sparks,
from welders hidden behind iron masks,
that scurried along the floor
and burnt the naked neck.

Through wide industrial doors,
with cheeks discolored from heat,
he left that place
into drizzling autumn rain.

In that moment, the dream forgotten
returned to memory.

New, the young man returned to school.

Being fall, he walked the sidewalks
under trees full of color
holding a book under his arm.

The past, he thought, will soon be forgotten.