Omar In School Poem by Eugene Ethelbert Miller

sometimes my daddy argues with my momma
sometimes it's about rent
or why my shoes suddenly grew small

my momma tell me one thing
my daddy tell me something else
which is why I don't do too good in school
especially with math problems like
how long will it take you to get to cleveland
if you left the day after tomorrow and the
train only runs on the weekends and the bus
cost $21.00?

so how am I to figure if it's day or night?
my daddy tells me to just look out the window
and we don't have family in cleveland- anyway

I tell this to my teacher
and she thinks i'm a smartass
she don't say this
but I know what she's thinking

she's thinking
why can't I be like omar
omar says yes ma'am and no ma'am
I like omar but he doesn't know everything

just yesterday I ask omar about jesus
I ask omar
did jesus have a dog?

omar says
he don't know
I tell omar
you stupid
you don't know

how a man gonna walk on water with a cat?
so he must have a dog
a dog be a real disciple

I don't know what my momma believes
she thinks i'm just foolish in the head
my daddy thinks omar is strange
boy too old for his face
he tells me
looks like he knows everything

no- I whisper to myself
omar doesn't know the train to cleveland
only runs on the weekends