by Marshall Begel

“Woman learns she’s half a credit shy of graduating high school,
16 years after receiving diploma”
—WSAZ

You somehow find the muscles of your eyes,
And pry your lids apart to realize

That sound was not a scream, but your alarm.
There’s no tattoo of Trump around your arm.

You are not being ruthlessly pursued
By hungry bears while hiding in the nude.

But dread about your high school English grade
Turns out to be the nightmare that won’t fade.