First Days At School and After

letting go of the clouds comes first, and then,
the winds and then the lets pretends
and you must sit at a desk with

eyes straight forward
learning to love the formulas.
outside is formless

or may as well be
since eyes must never stray
when real teaching is going on.

attention please!
you would wonder if you dared
do the grasses miss me

where we used to play
all day the little flowers in
the shubbery the panes

where my nose was pressed
second guessing Christmas
every minute.

slow days will come again
yet never the same
the honey laden time

when you were you
and the world was fine.

mary angela douglas 25 december 2015