School Report (Poetry)
18th May 2014
‘Could do better’... ‘Could do better’... ‘Could do better’
like a mantra echoing on down the page
sharp opinions most exact in every letter
quite enough to throw some parents in a rage.
‘Average’...‘Only average’...‘Fair to middling’
never ‘Excellent’...‘Improved’ or ‘Very good’
but the opposite of some annoying sibling
who out-performs as any brainbox should.
No marks for all the doodles and the daydreams —
the mind’s athletic prowess doesn’t count.
The establishment eschews those ‘off-the-wall’ schemes
their narrow wisdom is the only fount
of knowledge to be measured by diploma —
certificates, degrees — these are the thing
and any other ‘talent’ judged misnomer —
a failure in the social circus ring.
But if there were tests for sheer imagination —
a way to gauge the vision some have got —
results might prove a startling revelation
and ‘Could do better’ might well ace the lot.
like a mantra echoing on down the page
sharp opinions most exact in every letter
quite enough to throw some parents in a rage.
‘Average’...‘Only average’...‘Fair to middling’
never ‘Excellent’...‘Improved’ or ‘Very good’
but the opposite of some annoying sibling
who out-performs as any brainbox should.
No marks for all the doodles and the daydreams —
the mind’s athletic prowess doesn’t count.
The establishment eschews those ‘off-the-wall’ schemes
their narrow wisdom is the only fount
of knowledge to be measured by diploma —
certificates, degrees — these are the thing
and any other ‘talent’ judged misnomer —
a failure in the social circus ring.
But if there were tests for sheer imagination —
a way to gauge the vision some have got —
results might prove a startling revelation
and ‘Could do better’ might well ace the lot.