Knowing I couldn't take
my silver looking toy
6 shooter to school
I had to make

a pretend gun
out of fingers and thumb
Dennis went one better
and had this quite

imaginative machine gun
between his two
closed fists
and made a

hurthurthurt sound
as he pulled
the pretend trigger
or take from his jacket

a grenade and pulling out
the pin he'd throw it
and go BANG
loudly in the playground

luckily
he was on my side
and with Derek
who had a 6 shooter too

we managed
to continue
our version of WW2
accidentally

in the process
catching the teacher
Miss Ashdown
in the ****

a few times
but she never
seemed to notice
but on the way home

from school
in the late afternoon
Helen said
why do you boys

have to play war games?
why can't you play
skip rope or a catch game?
I looked at her

sideways on
taking in her
two brown plaits of hair
and thick lens glasses

and the grey skirt
and whitish blouse
and she looked at me
kind of serious

frowning
boys do that
they make war
they shoot

the bad guys
they are boys
she wasn't convinced
but the noise

you make too
the drrrrrrrrrrrrrrr sounds
or bang bang noise
we crossed under

the subway
her drrrrrr sound echoed
along the walls
can you imagine

us boys with skip ropes?
or playing catch games?  
yes
she said

why not?
we do other stuff
I said
we play card games

I won 13 film star cards
the other day
playing against
some kid

in the playground
and the Monroe one
I swapped
for 3 footballers

we came out along
the New Kent Road
and walked by the cinema
how about coming

to the cinema with me
Saturday
they've got
a good Western on?

she looked
the billboards
with small photographs
can't

haven't any money
she said
I’ll pay
my treat

I said
and where will you
get the money?
she asked

my old man
will cough up
he won't mind
I’ll have to ask my mum

she said
I gazed
at her brown hair
and ribbon

coloured a fading
dull red.