SONG OF A HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT

I read matchbook covers
My mother cried when I quit
I’m in a streetcar tunnel
Riding along, riding alone
Watching my face, my face
Filmed in a related journey.
I see my face that sees me.

When I quit it was raining
I needed the Dean’s signature.
I crossed, recrossed my legs:
He wouldn’t look up
I watched his thinning hair
While he wrote; while he wrote
Blinds clinked lightly behind him.

Outside, wind blew into a tree
And undid her hair in streams.