Recently dug out and reread some anthologies dealing with the theme of school life.
- 'Please Mrs Butler' Allan Ahleberg, 1983
- 'Heard It In the Playground' Allan Ahlberg, 1989
- 'Everything All At Once' Steve Camden, 2018
I personally have written a number of poems dealing with this theme across the years, but not enough to consider a themed anthology.
So it prompted to write some more.
Maybe, just maybe, it might morph into a future poetry project. The idea of a themed anthology appeals...
Here's a recent addition to my collection.
Friday, Last Period
Friday afternoon
Last period
Biology
With Mr Mendel
He’s talking about natural selection
And the length of a giraffe’s neck
-don’t think his words are getting through though…
The classroom is filled with the heavy air of a
steamy afternoon
Hot and close
We sit here waiting for the bell to put us out of
our misery
The sweet call of a yum-yum weekend is calling to
us
Looking around I notice-
Samira closely checking the polish on her nails
Kristy fighting hard to kill off the urge to yawn
Dougie stares out the window at the sky
Dina sits with her hands on her head for fear her
brain might explode
Oscar checks
out everyone’s shoes
Molly is doodling hearts on the cover of her
notebook
Nestor keeps stretching back in his seat
And Zelda slouches over her desk like a
corpse
Gina and Ingrid are secretly passing notes –again
Hu is eagerly chomping on the end of his pen
While Lenny and Dilshan are preparing spit balls
All the while the hands on the clock on the wall
above Mr Mendel’s head
Move slower than a knight in armour through a boggy
marsh
We need that bell to ring
Oh, how we need that bell to ring
We’re locked and loaded for the weekend
It’s our natural selection.
Alan, what a fun school poem to add to your collection. I love the fine details and the names of each student and what they are doing. It shows the distraction from the lesson of each, including the poet who was careful to make note of each of the other students and what they do. You have shown clearly that the Friday afternoon last period is not "getting through though." All the best on a future collection.
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise. Your fine observations are much appreciated. I am encouraged to push on with the possibility of this project.
Delete"The classroom is filled with the heavy air of a steamy afternoon/Hot and close." How well you describe that feeling from the last, summery days of school.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recognition you have afforded my chosen words. Such encouragement is appreciated.
DeleteFantastic poem....which needs to be at the end of a chapter or section. That waiting, waiting, waiting is torture. I like how you built that feeling into the poem and the locked and loaded feeling is so true!
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda for your kind response to my poem. We all know that feeling that builds as we wait interminably for something to happen. I'll keep your placement suggestion in mind.
DeleteI liked getting to know each personality a little, and that the Biology teacher is Mr. Mendel! What, I wonder, will constitute a "yum-yum weekend"? Good luck developing your collection.
ReplyDeleteHeidi, I appreciate your acute observation of the Biology teacher's name. I changed it out of respect and Mendel seemed just the perfect replacement. I will continue to investigate the anthology possibilities.
DeleteI always love waiting for your endings! They never disappoint. I love how you brought the beginning right back to the end in this one.
ReplyDeleteAh endings! Well Mary Lee, I recall being told that a poem must have a strong ending, so that is an undoubted motivation when I write a poem. Thank you for displaying your keen eye for detail.
DeleteThis really sets a scene and pulls us in - in just a few strokes of the pen, you give us vivid portraits of each student, the teacher, the classroom... wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Elisabeth. It does possess some list poem elements and the potted portraits need to differentiate the behaviours of each student, so thank you for your response to this aspect of the poem. Glad you liked it.
DeleteYou took me right into last period biology with your close-ups of each student. More than one brought a smile to my face. Good luck on your anthology!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose. Your observation regarding this poem are much appreciated. I will continue to explore the possibilities of the anthology. It will be interesting from a personal viewpoint to ascertain just how many poems I have related to 'school matters.'
DeleteYou really have captured something here, Alan. Dina with her head exploding and poor Zelda like a corpse trying to get through science class. I'm trying to get my mind to return to high school in my WIP and I think you've captured it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words Janice. Those high school years present an intriguing and somewhat challenging area to delve into. The volatility of emotion surrounding those formative years merely add to the complexity of trying to capture the essence of those years. Glad luck with your latest project. I keep reminding myself to retain a dash of humour into the mix, so it doesn't get bogged down in angst and self doubt.
DeleteWonderful poem Alan, how I love your ending, "It’s our natural selection." brining us back to the beginning! Your descriptions brought me right there—Yes to an anthology on this topic, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you Michelle. Glad you enjoyed the ending. It's a favourite strategy of mine, I must admit. Thank you also for the encouragement to persist with this project. My research has uncovered a cache of potential poems, so I'll see what comes of this project possibility.
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