Poetry is Hard
“YOU CAN’T LIVE WITH it
You can’t live without it
You need it, you want it, you despise it
One day, you want to sever it
Another, caress it. The next, suck it.
Dick—
Tormentor, symbol of the patriarchy, giver of pleasure in the backseat—”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Mr. Gallagher cut off Jessica during English class on Thursday, a few days after Ezra had enrolled in their school. “That was quite, er, a bold poem.”
Jessica clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Trying to censor me.”
“Go back to your seat, Miss Tian.”
With a dramatic hair flip, Jessica sat back down. Hilarie gave her a high-five under the desks.
“Any more volunteers?” Mr. Gallagher asked. “You’ll get five extra credit points if you present your poem in class.”
Although extra credit sounded appealing, Hila
