pitiful attempt
to show the world justice
ditching the walkout

after school, they beg
for classwork i can’t explain
in four short minutes

but the ones who stayed
sit, work with me for hours
tackling learning

one interrupts us
asking where the food bank is
to feed his family

i’m taken aback
a perfect student, born here
why is he hungry?

then, the Taliban:
lost her mother in Iran
falling off a horse

social injustice
propels their failed walkout day
served up after school

a dish to take home
a harder bite to swallow
as schools save us all