The stage is laid out
And the curtains are drawn to reveal
a classroom
The puppeteers take their places above it all and begin pulling their strings
At the end of those strings are students and teachers
And the show begins
The kids all fall in at precarious times like flower petals
They sit in their assigned seats
Organized
Structured, yet jagged
Confined
Packed in like cattle
Some are scolding hot from the bustling heat bouncing off the many bodies in the room and
Others freezing as the conniving breeze from the puppeteer’s’ whispers crawl up their backs into their ears and encapsulate their thoughts with a well-taught lesson to pay attention
There’s Shivering and wiping of sweat
Yet they wait restlessly for their teachers
Eager to make the minutes go by
And wondering
What are we learning today?
What systematic demands and expectations will be shouted in their ears only to be bounced around like a basketball by their insecurities
A game that never seems to end
But they continue to wait
Heads (start to) turn
Left, right
Then left again
Suddenly with determined speed
The puppet I mean their teacher, tugs her strings
Though the system above them is giving demands
The puppet is determined to keep pulling and fighting
Walks through the door with happiness in her feet
The action ignored by some while others sit inspired
The class starts and words flow out of the puppet’s mouth as if rehearsed thousand times over
Here and now
The kids know to listen, the kids know to follow,
the kids know to not tug at the strings
Or else the first show will end and the puppeteer will start anew without the warm welcome of a puppet
After the first show has ended
And the warm welcomes grow cold
There is nothing more to say
But
Play by the rules and watch the show
And next time
if you are even given a second chance you will know to
DO
As asked
Because there is
No choice
No option
Just watch
Listen
Do
Be interested
In the things placed in front of you
Don’t wonder about things that aren’t
Ask the questions you were taught to ask
Don’t think of ones you were not
Let the formation of your untaught thoughts crumble as if they weren’t building blocks of a question that could start a revolution
Let your curiosity fade away like snow entering spring
Let the thoughts be forced to enter your brain
by the Puppeteers
without your knowledge,
sinking into your heart like a watermark
While they watch you struggle and fight the strings until you fall into an inescapable pit of obedience
Carrying along nothing but the
Empire of “knowledge” that was built behind your eyes.
The next day
The class bell rings
You sit in the seat you were assigned, without resistance
You raise your hand and wait your turn, without resistance
Your fruitless fighting has left you defenseless and weak
The gears of ambition run slow and rigid
You no longer ask questions
once upon a time you were above average
now they’ve convinced you to convince yourself
you’re lucky if you get into a public college
Ivy League is a word from a dictionary you’ve never opened
Spoken from lips that you’ve stopped listening to
You only listen to the puppeteer now
And the Puppeteers are the ones that make
your transcript look like a barcode
Hopefully to be scanned by the highest bidder
So maybe they get their money’s worth
in the long run
