Left Shoes

on academic pressure

Yesterday,
I decided
to count my shoes.
I looked to my closet,
calculator in hand.
I'm bad at math,
but I took all honors classes
in high school.

If you asked me
about my exam scores,
I have barely passed.
Once I took my
second PSAT,
my score improved
dramatically.
At the start of
my junior year,
a 1050 stared me
in the face.

I couldn't tell if
my parents
were disappointed.
They registered me
for the PSAT again
in junior year.
They were not happy.

It's not gonna
get me anywhere,
is it?
It's just the practice test,
for the real test,
for the college apps,
for the job interviews,
for the life I'm supposed to make
for myself.

But instead,
I'm picking at my nails,
and wondering how in Hell
I have got an extra
left shoe.

Author's Note

My PSAT-taking day is coming up fast, and I'm not very happy about it.