Degraded by that D Grade

Insane the way

I’m defined by these grades

On my tests and my papers

It’s a game that I play

With my worth and the praise

That I crave every day

Like I’m James on the Lakers

Hate that the shame

Permeates every length

Of a wave from my brain

I’m my own worst hater

Praying for the day

I disregard all the marks

On the page it’s a cage

And I’m lost in the anger

So how much pressure

Is too much to measure

When it’s incommensurate

With my betterment

Where is the balance

When it comes to my talents

When it comes to my outlets

That are meant to really salvage

Security in self

‘cause confidence is health

High Esteem is wealth

But that’s not what I felt

What I felt was disappointed

Ego got voided

Embarrassment appointed

But I made my choice and

College became god

And I worshiped it with reverence

Now I messed up

And it has me feeling penitent

Canvas is my bible

And due dates are commandments

Grades are the judgment

And heaven is the campus

Bowing to the power

Of the numbers and the letters

Religious tendencies can

Leave the mind in fetters so

Why do I know this but

Perpetuate the cycle

Guess the value of a man is

His performance like he’s Michael