Dismissal Poem by Don Tiedemann

A child is not picked up after practice.
School is over. Nothing left but the
late afternoon, ungraded activities....
soccer, band, chess club. No more
expectations. Hangers-on have nothing to gain.
If you are not alone, its a fine time to talk.
Hallways are empty, dusty and echoing. A
locker around the corner bangs shut. A whistle
blows in the gym. The band butchers a door-muted
rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.
A young life is so many school days and they all
drain as slowly as a clogged sink.

Forty years ago Jay and I had both read
'A Catcher In The Rye'. I cant even remember
Jay's last name, but he told me I reminded him
of Holden Caulfield and I am still flattered.