Day Closure by Brian Moses

We had a day closure on Monday
and I spent the morning in bed,
but the teachers went in as usual
and someone taught them instead.

And I thought of them all in the classroom
stuck to their seats in rows,
some of them sucking their pen lids,
the maths teacher scratching his toes.

Perhaps it's like an MOT
to check if teachers still know
the dates of our kings and queens
and the capital of so and so.

Perhaps they would of have tables and spellings,
did the head give them marks out of ten?
And then, if they got any wrong,
did he make them learn them again?

I thought of them at break time
playing football or kiss chase or tag,
picking teams in the playground
or scoffing crisps from a bag.

If I'd been a fly on the wall
I might have watched wile they slaved,
I'd have seen who asked silly questions
or if anyone misbehaved.

I thought of them all going home,
crossing the road to their mums.
They looked very grim the next day.
It couldn't have been that much fun!