Susan Herzog

Mackenzie Senior Secondary

The Yearbook Page of Dedication

A poem of dedication
Is what they asked of me.
Dedication.
A poem that I dedicate
To the dedicated;
Interpreted as the top,
The studious, the achievers.
But there are other ways to be
Dedicated.
To get up and be on time
When you cowered in your room
Hiding from the ugly noises
Of your parents fighting,
Cursing, slapping, sobbing,
4:00 A.M., and doors and windows slamming.
Coming to class and trying to
Learn,
With a sharp tooth little weasel
Of addiction on your back.
A game you started for fun
That plays you now.
The fat boy who tells the first fat joke
Before you do
The starving girl, jeans sagging at the waist,
Who thinks she’s fat, and only eats apples,
One a day.
The smart ones wanting to be liked
The liked ones wanting to be smart
The jock whose dad slaps him
Down for every missed shot.
The brainy golden girl who cuts herself for every
Mark below the top.
The lonely girl who wants love and
Gets sex, a reputation, and
A baby
That will want love, not
Give it.
The boy who can’t read
The one who’s called a fag,
Bullied by all.
The girl who gets dogfood
Thrown at her.
The ones with braided scars
Upon their wrist,
Because they would rather
Not be.
And yet, they come
And they go.
We call it graduation,
School leaving,
Matriculation,
Commencement.
It should be called
Survival.