"Tracing Paper and Waiting For The Bell"

At primary school, we wipe our bums with

Tracing paper.

At secondary school, we wipe our bums with –

Pass.



And I sit there in French class one afternoon,

Trying to solve the problem of how

One afternoon can be longer

Then the whole year, of which

It is a part.



And I sit there in maths one

Very,

Very,

Long

And

Boring

Afternoon,

And start to read the graffiti

On the desk, and come across

A masterpiece – that simply states:

"Here I sit,

Bored as Hell,

Waiting for the bloody bell"

And I’m, like, yes!

And I show it to my friend,

And it just makes us laugh –

Which, of course, you aren’t allowed

To do in school time – so that’s

Another detention.  Great.



And I look back now

And I just wonder when we were ever there anyway,

What with teachers’ strikes,

And broken boilers,

And IRA bomb threats – well, okay

Kids in the local phone box,

Faking Irish accents…

Yet, the time spent at school seemed endless. How?