When just a lad, I felt my way
Through disappointments fruitless day,
When girls in pretty, frocks, on swings,
Would tempt and do outlandish things….
Flash a leg, then run a mile?
Con me with the sweetest smile?
Then lead me up the garden path
To leave me hanging…with a laugh.

The problem when you’re short and fat
You are really not worth looking at
And If you can’t afford to buy
Her pretty things, that catch the eye
Or ice cream at the candy bar
Or sweeties at the church bazaar?
Then relegation’s hard and fast
Hit the queue, boy, standing last!

Sports day when the flags all fly
Athletes bend and flex till spry,
Leggy limbs in flimsy gear
Students grinning, ear to ear.
Racing competition tough
Discus, javelin, shot putt rough,
Fabulous in shining sun
Corps D’esprit in all, as one.
Chubby me then won the mile
Happily, some ladies smile!

Then joyously, the old school dance
Where every young man stands a chance,
Dance floor marks your battle ground
Where courage prompts the move, profound,
To front up to that pretty thing
To join you for the Highland Fling.
Abandonment to utter joy
With laughter, love and girl, employ
A whirl of movement, synchronize,
In sweaty brow and thigh to thighs.

That moment on the balcony
When all the disappointments flee,
Shyly holding hands, you share
A kiss…that blasts the very air,
The sky, the stars, the night, the moon…
With reeling mind you spin and swoon
For home, as magic thoughts careen
Of soft sweet lips and loves' first dream.

M.
Brighton High School
1958