In the sea of desks
There is talk of bags and games
And long pipes that leak dreams with a strike of a match

And there’s a loudness to the whispers I hear
Whispers shouldn’t be that loud, should they?

There’s a girl over there who everyone knows
And men without ears who will stand by the door for a price

And long hallways; there are angry mobs of dwarves
and rats
and one single angel.

~ Anonymous

Josh Boone’s movie Stuck in Love follows three main characters of varying ages and backgrounds through their journeys with love, from adolescent affection to rekindled romance. Yet, perhaps one of the most dynamic plotlines features Rusty Borgens, a 16 year old teenager, and his experience with finding love at a young age. As the average high school student, Rusty feels as if he is stuck within the endlessly spinning hamster wheel of high school, effectively conveying his feelings when he recites a poem he wrote in front of his English class. Albeit short, Rusty’s poem clearly reflects his nuanced outlook on high school, specifically in highlighting the internalized emotions of being lonely, lost, and misunderstood. 

To begin, the opening line of “In the sea of desks” makes it evident that the poem is setting up the scene of a typical high school classroom (1). By comparing the alignment of the desks to that of a “sea”, the poem is drawing a connection between this classroom and the turbulent bodies of water. Seas often are perceived as undoubtedly beautiful expanses of nature that are simultaneously deceivingly dangerous. In alluding to this high school classroom being comparable to that of a sea, the narrator suggests that the students feel as if they are drowning within these four walls, immediately establishing the negative connotation associated with school. Just within this first line, the poem is shedding light upon the typical toxic environment of high school, where students often feel as if they are constantly being swallowed up by the billowing wave of high school, whether it be from academic stress, athletic pressure, or social conflicts. 

In the second line, the narrator continues to expand upon their perspective of high school. The description of “bags and games” (2) points out the convoluted nature of high school, where there is an unwritten but widely-accepted set of rules that must be followed in order to survive; in many ways, navigating high school is much like playing a game in trying to balance the last few years of carefree adolescence with the cautious preparation for the future. 

Next, the third line of “long pipes that leak dreams with a strike of a match” is an unmistakable reference to smoking, particularly the kind that is commonly attributed to high school students (3). The “long pipes” are depictions of bongs, through which the smoke—or leaking dreams—is incited by the “strike of a match”. The dreams can also serve as symbolism for the buzz of smoking, the sense of tranquility and relaxation during which people are more likely to reveal their hopes and desires. While smoking, the high school students in the poem are casually talking about their visions for the future, the palpable smoke and intangible dreams intertwining into a singular euphoric cloud within the air. On a more analytical level, the leaking of dreams could also serve as a commentary on the harmful effects of smoking, where damaged lungs and clogged arteries can prevent one from making their dreams come true. This line is a reminder that the tiniest action can snowball into something grand, similar to how a singular match can lead to a lifetime of health issues. Particularly in high school, every little decision that students face seems like an ultimatum, a potential catalyst for changing the entire trajectory of one’s life. 

In the second stanza, the narrator turns the focus of the poem back onto themself. The “loudness to the whispers [they] hear” refers to the voices inside their head, particularly the hisses of self-doubts (4). As high school students, everyone is trying their absolute best to figure their lives out, about what they want to do and who they want to be in the future. Although this type of uncertainty is prevalent throughout everyone’s lifetimes, the narrator is asserting that these voices in their head are amplified in high school, since there is so much pressure to find that one, unyieldingly correct answer. 

Then, the narrator goes on to question their personal thoughts from the previous line: “Whispers shouldn’t be that loud, should they” (5)? When the narrator takes a little too long to think about the voices in their head, the confusion they are dealing with is increasingly intensified. This stanza of the poem highlights the sense of loneliness that students feel in high school, where they feel as if they are the only ones experiencing these thoughts of unease and worry. While the rhetorical question posed in this second line indicates that the narrator knows deep down that they are not alone in these feelings, they still continue to feel isolated from others. Specifically, this stanza is also a reference to the Duck Syndrome: all ducks seem to be gliding smoothly from the surface, but in actuality, they are all paddling ruthlessly beneath the water. Similarly, high school students try their best to make it seem as if they are swimming along effortlessly, but are truly struggling and desperately trying not to drown. 

In the third stanza, the narrator highlights a specific situation typical to high schools when asserting “There’s a girl over there who everyone knows” (6). In not specifying precisely why everyone knows about this girl, the author allows for personal interpretation, whether it be due to her popularity status or for infamous rumors. Regardless, the usage of “over there” creates a sense of distance between the girl and the narrator, which serves to not only establish the hierarchical contrast between the two but also to create an emotional distance; though everyone in the school knows of the girl, no one seems to truly know who she is as a person since others only see what she portrays. The girl is an object of interest to many in the school for various reasons, but deep down is—like everyone else—fighting her own battles. 

In conjunction with the narrator’s discussion of the girl in the previous line, “men without ears who will stand by the door for a price” is another reference to the nature of high school students and the way they act (7). The “men without ears” establishes the idea that people tend to only listen to respond rather than listen to understand; similarly, in the case of the girl, the other students choose only to perceive her how they wish they to, rather than taking the time to get to know her on a personal level. Particularly, in standing by the door to hear more about the gossip revolving around the girl, the men are refusing to take a step inside her world but will do just about anything to hear about her life. 

In the final stanza, the poem does another callback to the initial scene of high school, where the poem once again zooms out to encapsulate the entire high school scene again. The mention of “long hallways” creates an image of walking down a seemingly endless hallway, the illusion that high school may seem as if it will drag on forever (8). Within these hallways, the reference to “angry mobs of dwarves” exemplifies the students as seemingly insignificant (8). Though these are real people with real problems in high school, in the grander scheme of things, and in the real world, the students are nothing more than just students. As an extension to the initial usage of dwarves, the author continues to shine a negative light on the students in this high school by comparing them to rats (9), which are often considered pesky and symbolic of bad luck. Much like rats, high school students can often be perceived as annoying, particularly due to their blase nature. 

Finally, the author caps off the list of negative descriptions with a complete reversal: a “single angel” (10). For one, this could serve as a reference to the girl from the earlier stanza, but regardless, it is evident that this poem is highlighting how this one specific character stands out from the rest of the crowd. Particularly in comparison to the other dwarves and rats, this one angel radiates a completely different aura than everyone else. Due to this ending line, it is now evident that this poem is a love poem, where this one person makes the rest of high school feel slightly more bearable. 

As a whole, this poem is one that highlights the high school experience: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Having been anonymously written, this poem conveys the idea that the high school experience is universal, not just specific to the narrator: everyone is struggling and just trying their best to make it through their high school years to gradually discover who they are.