Grades and small silences

Crumbled paper, sticky with melted popsicle,

a messy hand-scrawl in blue pen,

grade letters smudged, not quite clear.

My cousin’s eyes flick down,

worried breath caught tight,

loose shoelaces and backpacks

that can’t hide the weight.

That fragile paper held in shaking hands,

a quiet fear spelled out in ink,

not loud enough to hear,

but heavy enough to feel.