Benny's Bus Trip 1955 Poem by Terry Collett

And then went down for the bus
(while 'twas in motion)
as you'd seen your old man do
and sat at the side
as the clippie collected fares
as she went,

about 1955
year before Suez
and year after Elvis
recorded That's alright Mama
and the 7th year
of your outward voyage,

our life is a luminous halo
or so it seemed,

conscious from the beginning
unto the end or conscious
of the end of the beginning,

at the beginning
the end of life
or some such,

Mr Finn tall and thin
moustached talking
of kings and castles in class
dipping pen into the inkwell
to scribe what he'd scribed
on the blackboard,

Helen peering at you
through thick lens glasses
her brown hair
plaited in plaits
her grey pinafore
food stained,

Finn on about keeps
and drawbridges and moats
and you drew what he said
drew as your granddad
had shown you
draw from life
he had said
take from life
draw what you see,

the bus on its way
the clippie clipping tickets
a machine around her neck
or shoulder,

you thinking
I'll be one of those
when I get older.