#ukteaching
Intent on the final bell ring
declaring spring for reals
as we feel every inch
a bag of hammered turds
You will have heard the crack
in every colleague’s voice this term,
felt the glut of panics
that the journey home may be in a hearse
Still, it could be worse,
and when the rear view
shows a dwindling, darkening school,
we’ll spend two weeks pondering how,
exactly
Apr 1, 2022
Apr 1, 2022 at 8:24 AM UTC
The absolute ******* grind of it,
each inch upholstered rough,
sandpaper cushions and **** you,
this is school my loves:
best days of your life,
except the frequent crying
and wishing for an end,
but then
the dazzle blather
of someone excited by your subject,
your patient, pent up words
heard
and your bitten cynicism scuffs enough
to see your old electric truths beneath
Mar 25, 2022
Mar 25, 2022 at 1:31 PM UTC
Counterpoint:
I love you lot.
You colleagues and loves who despise this
alongside me
so when my foot slips or knee gives
you are at my shoulder, my elbow
with a Kit-Kat or quick jab
about being old and ****
so giggles lift the misery
of ignorant, blind and fruitless bosses
while our loss seems their gain for now
I am bound to remember this refrain:
We’re not gonna take it
So, my brothers and twisted sisters
get those pitchforks ready,
sharpen in the dark,
keep being artisans
for when the time comes,
the spreadsheets won’t even be worth
the cold nothing they’re typed on
but your healing hands will
Jan 30, 2022
Jan 30, 2022 at 8:39 AM UTC
You’ll look close for all its feints,
its lies of needing you
being lost without
while the fingers on your windpipe tighten
and those tears come in place of shouting
loud, steady, drip-drip mention
of blissed futures,
dispatched, ***** pasts,
the present full
of passive aggression
where passivity is too nuanced
you’ll still be there with open arms
and a heart dark with hope,
but that tickle-whisper in your skull
is not just the concussion
not just
Jan 29, 2022
Jan 29, 2022 at 10:30 AM UTC
At the core of my being
I reckon there’s oil
and garlic and salt
and probably chilli flakes,
lemon or lime zest and juice,
or orange at my heart
applicable herbs, like basil
thyme, oregano,
always rosemary as it grows
stock cubes
or those new jelly ones
to amuse the palate
in each experiment
all to hold off the meal deals
we know are coming
Aug 14, 2021
Aug 14, 2021 at 10:11 AM UTC