In Australia, we stand on the edge of a brand new school year. Anticipation and preparation are the hallmarks of this time of year, as the summer vacation period ebbs away. I have no wish to brush the remaining days of the holidays away, but my poem wouldn't wait -so here it is. I have always been enthusiastic about starting the new school year, -whether a student, or as a teacher.
Here is my ode to the first day of school- and freshness...
The sun comes up
On the first day
Of a new school year
We walk through the school
gate
School shoes tight, shiny and new
Uniform fresh and clean
Creases where they should be
Our hearts expectant
Faces full of smiles
And kissed by the summer.
Friends greet us
Stories are swapped
The corridors gleam and smell
of polish
The teacher's faces shiny, voices soft at the edges.
Classrooms greet us like welcoming arms
New books are opened
-And we write
Oh so carefully
With our out of practice
hands
Our shaky words nestling
On sparkling new pages
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow,
- just another school really.
Alan j Wright.
It is Poetry Friday and our host this time is Robyn Hood Black.
Robyn takes us on a tea tour. It involves poetry and a wide variety of cuppas...Sip slowly.
Oh, I'm always a little jealous when you all have the sun giving you summer. What a great ode to the first day of school...when everything is possible today AND tomorrow. This poem puts me in a good mood.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, Linda, our summer has been somewhat underwhelming with record summer rainfall in many regions. We soldier on in summer... I am glad my poem put you in a good mood.
DeleteWhat a wonderful meditation on all the things that bring the "newness" to a new school year. I particularly love this passage:
ReplyDelete"-- And we write
Oh so carefully
With our out of practice hands
Our shaky words nestling
On sparkling new pages"
So evocative of those first notes and assignments after a long break.
Thank you, Elisabeth. It is indeed the newness that is a standout on that first day of a new school year.
DeleteI love "Faces full of smiles / And kissed by the summer" and all the things that shine, gleam, and sparkle!
ReplyDeleteAh, JoAnn -it is pleasing to read your response for it captures the very essence of that new beginning. Thank you for your descriptors.
DeleteThat first day is always special, anticipation on every face. You've shown the different pieces well, Alan. For those with uniforms, love the 'creases where they should be'!
ReplyDeleteI have grown up with school uniforms, Linda so they had to rate a mention. Anticipation is an apt word to apply to this first day.
DeleteI feel the heart of a teacher here...our shaky words nestling on sparkling new pages. Wonderful! Thank you, Alan.
ReplyDeleteAh, you have exposed me! A lifetime teaching has coloured and informed my perspectives here, no doubt about that. So glad you liked the poem.
DeleteThis is Janice. Your poem brings me back to the thrill of the first day of school. I always expected wonderful things and found them. In the U.S. it's sad to hear that 10% of kids don't show up, for many reasons, and I hope post-pandemic the thrill of school will come back to at least and be experienced by some of them.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased you found the poem relatable, Janice. The stats you cite around school refusals is always concerning. Since Covid we have experienced similar problems in our schools- not sure what the exact figure is, but it has been noted as a probem. -anxiety, being a factor driving many situations. Like you I hope we can recapture a sense of the school being a place that is seen as inviting and stimulating to young learners- a place so compelling you don't want to miss out.
DeleteAhhh - the joy and anticipation of that first day of school is universal and you captured it so well!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose. It's unique, that first day feeling.
DeleteI love the idea of TOMORROW as a school. Here's to perpetual learning whether in the walls of a traditional school, or simply in the next tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteThat first day feeling is like quicksilver, but I do like your take on tomorrow, Mary Lee. It brings renewal and so much potential.
DeleteIt's delightful to read about the first day of school in the midst of the school year! So many details popped for me-- the "faces full of smiles/and kissed by the summer" and especially those teachers' voices "soft at the edges." You have me reflecting on where we started, where we are, and where we're going. Such a gift. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Molly. I guess there is something quite beneficial flowing from the fact we reside in different parts of the world. We share in ways that allow us to reflect and anticipate around that wonderful cycle called, life.
DeleteOh, Alan, you described the eagerness and anticipation so well. I especially like the ending of each stanza that capture the mood quite well. Our hearts expectan/voices soft at the edges/Our shaky words nestling/On sparkling new pages/Classrooms greet us like welcoming arms! (That in itself is a lovely poem captured from the bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol. Glad you have capture the essence of the poem- all that eagerness and anticipation.
DeleteYour descriptive language made me smell the school smells in my head, imagine the glorious, crisp white pages of a fresh notebook, and hear the crack of a new spine. Ahhhhhh!
ReplyDeleteTracey, your sensory response is most gratifying. You are there in that moment...
DeleteLove those "out of practice hands." I grew up in Thailand and had a friend who was a teacher in Australia. He always spent his summer/Christmas break in Thailand with his parents. I love thinking about a new year and new school year at the same time.
ReplyDeleteMarcie, I guess some of those first day feeling never completely leave you. Yes, new year and new school year is a rather special double act.
DeleteLove how you capture the excitement of a clean and shiny, sparkling new school year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Buffy. It always seems so fresh on day one.
DeleteI'm giggling as I read "teachers' faces shiny, voices/soft at the edges" --having just hung up from a conversation with my kindergarten-teacher-sister who celebrated Day 100 this past Friday. Her voice was not soft - lol! Oh, the days...
ReplyDeleteGiggles are good. Patricia. It is always interesting to watch how the shininess of that first day fades as the term unfolds. The challenge is always to keep the energy and the surprise going.
DeleteAlan, hooray for a new fresh start. It is one of the best parts of being a student (and, for me, as a teacher) I love the seeing the children come back to school, all sun-kissed, as you captured so beautifully in your poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you Denise. I enjoyed writing this poem a lot. I think it was because of that lived experience as both student and teacher. It's such a buzz.
DeleteSo true - the newness just doesn't last, unfortunately! Ruth,thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteSadly, Ruth, it doesn't last, but no matter what day of the year I enter a classroom, I try my best to bring some newness. Teachers often remark how much I seem to be enjoying my time in the class with their students. I figure its important to let them know I am pleased to be there, even after all these years.
DeleteWonderful, Alan - Thanks for sharing this universal and special time. Happy New School year to you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robyn. Looking forward to venturing back into schools.
DeleteAlan, this was fun to read and to remember those long-ago first days. --Susan T.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. Ah, memories...
Delete