M.
KLEIN
Secondary School
Here is a list of everything I remember about middle school.
In 7th grade I was in public school in Tennessee. I made a friend named Shannon who had the locker next to me, and she invited me to her church. A few weeks into the school year I cut my hair into a pixie and she called me a dyke. I didn’t know what that meant yet. She didn’t invite me to her church again after that.
In 8th grade I was in love with my best friend. Over winter break I rode my bike up the hill to her house and sat outside on her sidewalk in the snow. Her brother pulled up with chained tires and told me she wasn’t home.
My 9th grade year I lived at the computer desk, attending online charter school. I resourcefully found the answer to every single math assignment, and got my best math grades ever.
Here is a list of everything I remember about high school.
In 10th grade I started a new school in a new city. I balked at the dress code and wore my hair in braids for school picture day.
In 11th grade I took AP English but not the test, because I didn’t know it cost money.
My senior year I learned about desperation.
M. Klein is a poet and artist from an Appalachian basement. Her work is tangled in mother hunger, and shaped like a promise. Her poetry has been published by Persephone’s Fruit, Fifth Wheel Press, and Day Job Journal. Klein’s debut chapbook, Brentwood, was published in 2023.
Website: kleinmk.squarespace.com
‘Twitter’: @ST0NESPIRAL
Instagram: @stone.spiral