Nelson Literacy 10a

Conflict

Stares
Poem by Bryan Potter

Stares whiz by me one by one like bullets As I dodge them, like my life depended on it God forbid I catch one and engage For I am weak, scared, and alone in this conflict Stares of interrogation penetrate me I can hear them Who are you? What are you doing? They see right through me Like an unwanted spectre No one notices my discomfort As I sit in silence, twisting and turning Adjusting my position over and over Squirming desperately like a worm on the pavement in a thunderstorm Desperate to escape drowning in the mud I remain sitting in silence But inside there is violence I close my eyelids And wish it all went away The bell rings.

Copyright 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd.