163. Imagining Learning (Myshkin, 2021) · free verse

It’s 5:13am and a full moon. I am lying in bed in my camper car, In tears, On edge, The liminal space to what comes next. “And that’s when the children started calling themselves,” Charlie told us yesterday. They had heard of this strange adult Who cared what teenagers had to say, And would listen to them. “I wasn’t going to have children of my own,” One child says, Struck by the vision they had just painted. “But if you build this school, I will.” We have built a world With schools That teach children How to give up. What a hellish thing to do! But there is hope. You can never quite kill A young soul. It just lies there, Dormant, Latent, Waiting for spring, And for one simple invitation To come out and speak.