On A Tribute to the School

It's hardly what it seems. Typed entirely in 10 minutes or so as a spur-of-the-moment thing, and no artistic licence at all. Been a long time since I wrote a poem.

four years gone and
(what is in my opinion)
tarnished minds and corrupted views
propaganda and suppression with
your ever-vigilant officers
of the so-called laws

with shrieks of the whistle
over the bloody PA system
and "..do the right thing”
reverberating through our ears
with echoes of chatter slowly
building up through all
six floors of the building

it used to be four but we shifted
across the street it seemed better
but visions clash and planes crash1
and the unorthodox displays were out to scare 'em
of 'science block!' and 'aesthetics block!' (now, hmm, where is the Drama Studio...)
and of course
the all-important 'classroom block!'

teachers come in
and out
and in and out again
of the classroom with the same frown
on their faces as they shake their heads.
"When are they going to clean up
their classrooms?"
but nothing said mattered anyway

yells of 'gooooooal!' float from the canteen-
no, wait, it's the volleyball-court-turned-soccer-court!
boys from all levels seem to bond
(and some girls, too)
kicking the same ball
seriousness etched on their features

glass broke and all heads turn
to that sheepish boy who broke the burette
"$7 please!"
then came the bunsen burner
which screw came loose
and caused much havoc and chaos
as the girls shrieked while the flame
swayed from side to side
licking at the test-tube

at the end of the day
as the bell rings (two minutes late, we timed)
some of them drone on and on
and deprive you of those vital minutes
and you walk briskly to the bus stop...
"shucks" are muttered (albeit more vulgarly)
as buses leave and files explode

we look back at our school years
(they're, uh, supposed to be our prime years)
and even though we've been kicked
suppressed and tortured
physically, mentally, psychologically, metaphorically...

maybe i'll even miss you

1 No planes were harmed in the typing of this: I swear.