bus walls

when i was seven i learned what blood tasted like

from the boy around the corner 

who shoved my head into the metal wall of the school bus

i tasted it in my mouth

he did not care

he did not learn

he never apologized

looking back i know

i was too young to know 

blood tastes like bus walls

but i wonder if it's just my luck

that in this world

boys are taught to shove

and girls are taught to learn