He sits on the chair, wide-eyed,
Confused like a headless chicken.
He struggles to concentrate on what the teacher is scribbling on the blackboard.
Then—the chime of the school bell, his saving grace.
It is the calm after the storm,
That rainbow on the horizon.
Once, he had drowned in the world of drugs
To escape the crudeness of reality.
No more red-eyes now,
No more drunken stupors.
Sweet sixteen comes with its own maturity
And a new lease of life.
Outcast is now the life:
Out casted from the company he kept
During those years under the influence.
They now look at him with malice, like the traitor he is.
Recovery is a tough road.
All this time, they really let the sleeping dogs lie.
How long did he sleep for?
Because right now, he can’t really get the concepts of education.
Winners never quit, and quitters never win.
Does this foreshadow his life now?
Everything seems so hard, and he wants to call it quits;
His brain can’t fathom anything anymore.
When he tried to do a chemistry experiment,
The flames almost burned down the lab.
Grammar and idioms seem like Greek to him.
How is he supposed to know what Moses said to the Israelites?
And why do humans have cells; are humans prisons too?
But a gentle hand perches on his shoulder
Like a dove landing on a tree.
His teacher offers reassurance and help; everything will be okay.
Brick by boring brick.
Michael Ngirigacha is a graduate from Zetech University, having graduated with a distinction in the course Diploma in Mass Communication Year 2021. Michael is heavily influenced by Charles Dickens and Wahome Mutahi. Michael is also a poet and short story writer and looks to venture into plays, children books, and a book or two in his mother tongue. His book Oliver Maina draws comparisons to Oliver Twist.
Featured image by Jakob Braun on Unsplash.
