1982 BGGS Magazine

FIVE YEARS The silent silhouette of the tree rustled in the breeze. Clouds of golden balls wafted Down, among the grassy tufts - So slowly grown, · So quickly removed by restless fingers . The girl's brown eyes blurred And the distant golfers dissolved into the hill.

WHY WE EAT SO MUCH AND STAY SO THIN When the dismissal bell goes at a quarter past three The event next to happen is something to see The girls from the Grammar in a mad fren z ied rush Pour out of the gate and onto the bus. They all get packed in like a tin of sardines, And no one would think they had parents of means When there's kicking and punching and pulling of hair Of which the bus driver is not even aware. The bus starts down the hill at a hundred and one, Stops dead on the corner, and then there's some fL!!'f , For all of the girls standing up in the aisle - End up in an unrecognizable pile. When it comes to the station they say "Thank God for us" For two thirds of the girls fall out of the bus And then realize it' /l all happen again When they make their mad frenzied rush for the train. A insley Flint BL. I had the inspiration to write this poem when I made the grave mistake of catching the No. 23 down to Central. I am wondering when they will invent a bus where they can stack us in horizontally and roll back the top like a real tin of sardin.es.

Her hand was entwined in a clump Of green blades. But she didn't pull.

S he was too afraid. Like her first day-

Freshly transplanted from primary school And dwa1jed under the dark, stiff hat. Her eyes had p eeked meekly out then, Groping for new trellises. ·

The in-between years merged As routine oneness in her life. The bus trips to and from home,

Up and down the Terrace, In and out of endless days. Perhaps it felt like a prison But fellow inmates were there- To shai·e - the pains of growth, The thrills of blossoming achievement And the satisfaction of friendship . The girl's world slowly was surrendering The security of her school tie. Symbiotically sapped and supported for five indelible years ... She wrenched the grassy roots from their bed. And walked quietly out of the gate. Winnifred Lee. 12 Gr.

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