What they didn't teach us in school

Ayomide Raji

Biography: Raji Ayomide Olaitan, known as King of Rhymes, is a Nigerian poet, spoken word artist, author, animator, and certified drone pilot. He grew up in the jungle city known as ajegunle. He is the Founder/CEO of King of Rhymes Poetry Hub and TechRise Coding Hub, platforms dedicated to empowering young creatives and training youths in digital and tech skills. He serves as the Global Teenage Tribe Leader of the African Writers Tribe, where he mentors and inspires young writers across Africa. His work blends poetry, storytelling, animation, and digital creativity to deliver powerful, emotional, and visually engaging art. King of Rhymes is a voice, a movement, and a rising force in African creativity. Subscribe. Listen. Feel. Rise.

Ayomide Raji's Profile

Ayomide Raji

Sunday 7 December 2025

What they didn't teach us in school

They taught us formulas, but not how to survive real life.

They made us recite facts, but never taught us how to feel.

This poem is for everyone who had to figure it out the hard way.

poem by king of rhymes

They taught me about gravity,

But never how to handle a fall emotionally.

They taught me kinetic energy,

But never how to keep my spirit in motion when life stands still.

I memorized photosynthesis,

But I never learned how to breathe when the world takes my light.

They gave me equations for success,

But not the formula for surviving failure at night.

I knew how to calculate velocity,

But not how to speed up healing when pain hits constantly.

I studied cells in biology,

But no one warned me about being trapped in emotional solitary.

They drew atoms on boards,

But never explained how humans split bonds too.

They spoke of the heart as a pump,

But forgot to say love can rupture boundaries too.

They taught me the periodic table,

But I still couldn’t identify the elements of betrayal.

Told me about current in physics,

But didn’t show me how to flow through pressure without breaking.

I passed exams in silence,

But failed in expressing the noise inside me.

I was A+ on paper,

But real life marked me wrong where it mattered.

They taught me photosynthesis needs sunlight,

But never how to grow through storms in the night.

Said I needed lab reports for proof,

But my scars and struggles be my strongest truth.

They never taught us empathy,

Just symmetry.

They cared more for neat answers

Than messy honesty.

School no teach me say life dey bite like mosquito for blackout.

Say e fit slap you like NEPA wey no dey give shout.

Dem no teach say money no dey obey syllabus.

Say person fit get sense book-wise

but still dull for survival like broken compass.

Dem teach me science,

But street teach me silence.

Dem teach me maths,

But real life na luck plus small sharpness.

I sabi diagram,

But I no sabi diagram wey dey show who go betray me for back.

Make I yarn you last last...

No be everything school go show you.

Some lesson na life go flog you

like say you copy for exam wey you no write.

So shine your eye!

Hold your sense like lab coat,

'Cause this life na ex

periment,

and everybody dey test you

with or without textbook.

Ayomide Raji's Profile

What they didn't teach us in school

Trending Now

Most Rated Poems

Recently Joined

FPG Feeds