A broken system

The clock, the enemy of the mind,
Time stretches into long ribbons,
Each responsible for the waiting game. 

Eyes glaze over, fragile ice on a sleeping pond,
Foot shakes from restlessness,
Fighting back the instinct to be a child.

Compressed and conformed,
The final product of a misled system,
Learning only what is of importance now.

Tell me, why is learning about relationships between animals
Valued over learning how to do our taxes?
Why aren't we taught what needs to be known to survive
In the world outside of the four walls,
Where money is what matters, 
Where there are those situations you role-played in school,
Where no meant no,
And please was manners, not a beg for mercy.

The system we live in is
Broken, tailored to privilege,
Where you need a college to have a fighting chance at success,
Yet most kids don't know if they'll be given this fighting chance
Because the money that runs this world doesn't grow on trees.

This world where some go hungry while the wealthy feast 
And kids are denied the education they need
Just to keep their heads above the rising water of society
And the same system that denies them a proper education
Tells them to grow up, get a job.

They've built a fragile system
Made from hundred dollar bills,
Each carefully stacked,
Withstanding the wrath of time.