Elementary

1957
I am eleven
My first day in
Texas elementary
School 5th grade and
It is much more informal
Than a northern class with
Chaos talking running throwing
Students as the teacher walks
Into the classroom. My hands
Are folded on my desk silent
Waiting for instructions but
None seem to come oddly
Enough discipline is not
Evident so I watch and
Wait for the teacher
To lead the class
But she guides
Individuals ad
Hoc as the
Noise is
A cloud
Cut in
Pieces
By lunch
And recess
So I adjust by
Reading a book
About military stuff
Wars campaigns battles
Until I graduate High School.
Elementary school is a model
For a more casual society so
Like Mark Twain said when
He entered Virginia City
Nevada in the post
Civil War days it
Was no fit place
For a Christian
And he did not
Remain one
For long.
Just so
Me in
Texas grade
Schools. I was
A terrible student
Except for literature
History geography and
Geometry plus math but
Lousy in other classes
Until my senior year
When some of my
Teachers began
To suspect may
Be I was not
A dunce
But too
Lazy.
Them
Teachers
Were smarter
Than they looked.
My fifth-grade lesson
Was if you want to
Get along then
You better
Go along
Quietly
Drop
The
Tin drum.
Just so today
The prettiest women
And the nicest folks
You ever seen,
Just do not
Harsh
Their
Buzz.
That’s
Elementary.