Five Letters

Throughout your academic endeavors
You are defined by five letters
The Alphabetical Bureaucracy that defines your intelligence
The lower the grade, the lower your elegance

Told not to judge the fish, but only given the tree
Why does it only take a letter to define me
My letter is F, failure and forgotten
No matter how hard I work, I'll only be labeled as rotten
 
Disappointment lingers with the strokes of red
Scolded for not using my head
Told to apply myself to the material
Questioned why I'm confused about something so trivial

Forgotten is my label, untitled is my name
Just the girl who doesn't try
Told I have only myself to blame
But what does it mean to apply

To study for hours and deprive yourself of sleep?
To pay attention in class when the teacher doesn't even teach?
Seven classes, demanding undivided attention
You can only handle so much knowledge retention

No matter how much its preached
That letters don’t define
They hinder your ability to reach
And slowly does your confidence decline