by Brian Cobarrubia

This piece originally ran in Read This!, a literary magazine written and edited by high school students from San Lorenzo High School, ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old. This issue of Read This! was designed at 826 Valencia with the help of our tutors and volunteers.

I wake up in the morning,
To the ringing of my alarm screaming straight at me
In rage I strike the noise but then tilt my head to see
My mom is making sounds that I cannot recognize
“I can’t wake up,” I say, but surely that’s a lie
I slept really late last night to study for a test
Leave me alone right now all I really need is rest
I feel like I’ve been drugged, my whole body is asleep
I could hardly lift up my hands, I feel very weak
I wish that I could sleep and never be awake
And drown out all the noise that I have to take
But in doing so I realized that I would be dead
So I roll out of my covers, only to hit my head
I get into the showers and then into my room
I spray on some cologne but realize that its perfume
Oh well, out the door, “Bye Mom!” I say
I’ll smell like roses, maybe someone will notice me today
I begin to drive to school only to find I’m delayed
The road is closed off and traffic is in my way
I finally get to school prepared for my test
Only to find that all my homework’s a mess.