Just One Look Back
Endless uniforms to label
we hope our machines and hands
are working and able
Socks and shirts all starchy white
but they won’t stay clean for long
but at least for tonight
Trousers to take up, those flippin hems
then there are the pencil cases
and every type of pen
All to name and all to mark
with each new item
it’s a brand new start
Shoes and trainers bigger each year
potentially predicting the size
of our growing children, so dear
Early to bed, endless protesting to stay up longer fights
a shock to the system
these earlier to bedtime nights
Shiny shoes and newly packed rucksacks
forms for form tutors
and they are nearly ready to be despatched
The night before a new term starts
it’s rarely easy
holding their hopes and dreams in our hearts
We say goodnight and we kiss the air
they nestle down
we hope without a care
At breakfast, they slump over the cereal bowls
feeling ever so grumpy and tired
we think poor young souls
At drop off time the conversation is dry
driving in silence
we all know why
Off they go, a new coat, new shoes
some meet up in chatty crowds
some go in slowly and single, some in cosy twos
One look back, as you drive away
just one look, if you are lucky
and it stays with you all day
Parting is never easy from parent and child
whether your little one is easy going,
outgoing, meek or mild
But at the end of that school day
there is often relief,
as they smile and reassure you
that school can be more than ok, and its no time thief…
Written by Mandy Dineley 2018
