10,000 Fs | Education, Pushcart Prize

Spindle is an online literary magazine with a twist, featuring creative non-fiction, poetry and short fiction by, for and about New Yorkers -- literal and spiritual. Showcasing emerging writers, artists, musicians and other notable New Yorkers, it offers a multi-faceted look at New York City and the world beyond through the eyes of both those who love it and hate it, and in many cases, a peek inside the minds of the people themselves.

Like New York City, Spindle is best experienced with an open mind and a healthy dose of intellectual curiosity. There are no tour guides here, so readers are encouraged to take their time and casually explore the site, whether a section at a time, via the "related article" links, or by doing a keyword search.

Thanks for reading!

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

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Thursday, 20 November 2008

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10,000 Fs

By Willie Perdomo,

I can’t do this
this test
I haven’t seen
my mother since Friday, since
she left with her boyfriend.
She’s doing that
thing again.
Grandma can’t read said
I shouldn’t have
to take a test on Saturday
My father is in Brooklyn
somewhere looking for
his shoes
I can’t
do this this test.
Saturday is for Pokemon
fried eggs with the yellow ball
wonder bread baseball sprinklers
jungle jim sponge ball.
Saturdays is for timing the sun.
I can tell you
when someone
just got shot.
I can tell when
Andre is punched
or slapped by the
way the walls shake
But
this test I can’t do
this A B C see
I know
I know I can’t
because Ms. Phelps
said she said
I was stupid

Willie Perdomo is the author of Where a Nickel Costs a Dime and Smoking Lovely. He spends his free time looking for ghosts on Lexington Avenue, between 103rd St. and 125th.

This poem was a 2007 Pushcart Prize Nominee.

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