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A millionbillionwillion miles from home
Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)
Why are they all so big, other children?
So noisy? So much at home they
Must have been born in uniform
Lived all their lives in playgrounds
Spent the years inventing games
That don't let me in. Games
That are rough, that swallow you up.
And the railings.
All around, the railings.
Are they to keep out wolves and monsters?
Things that carry off and eat children?
Things you don't take sweets from?
Perhaps they're to stop us getting out
Running away from the lessins. Lessin.
What does a lessin look like?
Sounds small and slimy.
They keep them in the glassrooms.
Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine.
I wish I could remember my name
Mummy said it would come in useful.
Like wellies. When there's puddles.
Yellowwellies. I wish she was here.
I think my name is sewn on somewhere
Perhaps the teacher will read it for me.
Tea-cher. The one who makes the tea.
Roger McGough
| Submitted Date |
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Friday, January 03, 2003 |
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Read poems about / on: teacher, children, running, home, remember, school, child
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Comments about this poem (First Day at School
by
Roger McGough
) |
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Dick Badian (11/4/2009 1:10:00 PM)
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glassrooms..I love this creative writing.
this poem made me smile.
thank u
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David Woods (3/16/2009 4:41:00 PM)
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Whimsey. With soul. Takes me back.
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Ian Fraser (2/17/2009 5:17:00 PM)
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It reminds me of the famous joke in Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie. The teacher tells Laurie to 'wait there for the present' but he goes home never having got one....
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Mariana Balestrini (9/8/2007 5:10:00 PM)
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I am a teacher and this poem has touched my soul deeply as well as it has made me remember my days at kindergarten. What a fantastic poet with such a sweet view!
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Steph Y (4/13/2007 7:50:00 AM)
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The last line made me laugh out loud.
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Joe Parslow (9/12/2006 2:54:00 PM)
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We examined and perfromed this poem in a GCSE Drama lesson. I found it an extremely evocative poem and it really let our group explore our dramatic devices. We performed the poem and we were told that it was a perfromance standard piece so i thank the poet for giving us such a fantastic piece to work on.
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Lee Ann Schaffer (8/13/2006 1:53:00 PM)
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I simply adored this. It was so effectively evocative - even though I never attended school in the UK. Well done.
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Gina Onyemaechi (5/25/2006 1:20:00 PM)
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Ay, childhood innocence! A charming, well-empathised comedy.
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Tom Prato (2/10/2006 2:43:00 AM)
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I remember my first day at school. All the children appear so big and bold. Two of them were wearing masks of animals and running around. I felt lost and frightened. My mother was nowhere to be seen. The tables and chairs were so small, and in the afternoon we had to sleep with our head upon the table. I don't remember anything about tea, but we drank powdered milk. Oh, this poem brings back memories. The poet has got into the skin of the child and truly empathized.
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Aeraliece Corby (1/26/2006 4:28:00 AM)
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A little piece of hell that we have all been through, Vey well portrayed. I love it!
Aeraliece Corby
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Read all
16
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