N’s and M’s, P’s and Q’s, V’s and W’s
Identical twins, no difference do I see
Letters hide in neighboring words
“Stop it!” I beg “Enough!”
Their vanishing act a bitter mockery
Frustration boils inside me
The page is too bright
I want to give up, to cry out

“Read aloud” my teachers say
I take a breath,
Fear quakes inside
I look at the book, the words are a blur
“Just take it slow” I tell myself

Words fall out of my mouth with the grace
Of a drunken rhino
Listeners snicker loudly behind their hands
Blood flushes my face
I feel dizzy, I feel sick
The teacher impatiently aids my pronunciation
My eyelids remain open wide, not daring to blink
Less the words escape my sight

Blood flushes my face
I feel every eye in the room bore a hole into me
Why me? Why now? Why here?
Finally the teacher has had enough
ANother reader is chosen