Boarded-up School

Inside the tagged,
scarred auditorium,
a “Score High!” banner
sags from the balcony
whose intricate railing
dates to the nineteenth
century. None
of the men who made it
had diplomas.









Michael Jones has taught in Oakland public schools since 1990. His poetry has appeared in Beloit Poetry Journa and most recently in DMQ Review; a chapbook, Moved, is forthcoming from Kattywompus Press.