Diploma Poem by Edwina Reizer

I need that piece of paper.
I need to graduate.
Without that piece of paper
This society will separate
Me from those that have one
Hanging on their wall.
It’s just a piece of paper
With a pompous illegible scrawl.

I’ll take my chances learning,
Learning on my own.
Reading, writing and arithmetic
And this heavenly tone
That comes out when I’m singing
On a microphone
Is worth more than paper
With a pompous illegible scrawl.

I’ve been to school since kindergarten
And then for 12 more years.
And all those years of learning
And I walk away with fears.
Where do I go to get a job?
They say I need a degree.
Well, what in the hell were those years all for?
They didn’t do anything for me.