Type to Learn

In fourth grade

they put our hands

under show boxes

to see how fast

we could say:

fox moves quickly I

am Sam: but really

the words they

should have prepared

us to type fast

with our eyes

closed were time

is running out things

are terribly wrong

and I miss you

so much. The world

is different now

or what’s different

is that I know

of tits dangers

this week on TV

another long-awaited

trial the verdict again

unjust I cried then typed

one long sentence

I'm still a small body

on a big planet I'm still

the same person thinking

about foxes and the speed

at which they can run

and I wonder if

Mrs. Cannatelli knew

which animals

would disappear first

I guess there’s a lot

I didn’t see coming

I remember not being

afraid I remember

eraser caps and having

the highest typing score

and that being all

that mattered

as though perfection

were a guarantee

of survival as though

with enough practice

I would be equipped

for any of this.

Copyright Credit: Natasha Rao, "Type to Learn" from Latitude . Copyright © 2021 by Natasha Rao. Reprinted by permission of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org.