Poem Analysis | Zimmer in Grade School by Paul Zimmer

In grade school I wondered

Why I had been born

To wrestle in the ashy puddles

With my square nose

Streaming mucus and blood,

My knuckles puffed from combat

And the old nun's ruler.

I feared everything: God,

Learning, and my schoolmates.

I could not count, spell, or read.

My report card proclaimed