School Fight
How you got into a fight
with Woolgar in the school
playground God only knows
but it seems to stem from
him pushing into you and
knocking you against the wire
fence and then you rush at him
like a bull in a marketplace with
a flurry of punches catching him
high on the cheek with a tight fist
then a crowd gathers and an almost
perfect ring and on the periphery
out of the corner of your eye you
see them gathered excitedly chanting
loudly bundle bundle fight fight then
Woolgar put up his fists in front of
his face and you know instinctively
he’s no fighter that he’s not put
those fists up in a real fight and the
fire seeps from you and you move
your fists in the way you’d been taught
and duck and weave but you’re just
going through motions now and his eyes
widen in fear and you know you ought
to go off and leave him there as the
anger has almost gone then there’s
a shout of PREFECTS! and the audience
of eager schoolboys disperses and you
walk off into the crowd and Woolgar
drops his hands by his side and stares
up and out at the hills as if some voice
had called him like some ancient prophet
and the school prefects seeing nothing or
no one go off disgruntled and forget.
poem by Terry Collett
Added by Poetry Lover
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