He said it quite matter of factly
which I took as an attack, not just
on me, but on all who were there
at the run-down primary,

'you lot', he said,
'will never amount to nowt'

and I looked at him
in his threadbare suit
as he plonked himself down
on an old wooden chair
with his deadbeat face
and his battered briefcase,

and I thought,
yeah, right.

but it must have been tough for him
times back then were grim,
thin was the only thing we knew,
thick, hadn't been thrown at us
yet.