A Dropout
A Dropout
Listen my children and you shall hear
What dropouts do and what they fear
I dropped out and made my name
A number one fool in the hall of shame
I can’t read and I can’t write
All I know is how to fight
I do drugs and I get high
Ask me no questions, ‘cause I don’t know why
All I know is I have no home
I don’t even know what went wrong
I can’t add, and I can’t spell
Goodbye school I’m going to hell
In hell there are no schools
In hell there are no rules
Hell is where I don’t want to be
Because then, no one will care about me
But wait! Maybe it’s not too late
For me to change my fate
I’ll try and try real hard
To find myself and make a new start
Rico Miller, September 1988
About this poem
This poem was written in 1988 while I served as a teacher, watching the experiences of young people who were struggling. This poem has helped many young people.
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Written on September 27, 1988
Submitted on April 26, 2022
Modified on April 18, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 307 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | XXAA BBCC XXDD EEFF GGXX X |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 717 |
| Words | 156 |
| Stanzas | 6 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
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"A Dropout" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 4 Dec. 2023. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/125598/a-dropout>.
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