SCHOOL BY THE RIVER

SCHOOL BY THE RIVER

To the school by the river I was swept.
I went there on the rebound
from my luck who had flown.

And Aaron would sing to me,
and show me trees and mountains.

And the long summer had ended,
and autumn-summer had begun,
with its crackling mornings
and nervous stomachs.

But the trees behind the walls of
Riversdale Road, welcomed me from either
side, and led me in to South Mersey,
where Auliss called out to me,
as I sat with my back to the sun.

And there was green and shade and
river-light. And food was plentiful and free,
and the tea cups were not heavy.

And I read the A to Z of film law,
and those who taught me knew this—so
many of them who were passing through.

And at the end of the day, tokens for the
bus took me to bread and honey.

Then after watching lights move on a wall,
I would climb to Croxteth Road where
the Jackdaw, on dark evenings, refused
my offerings with grace and courtesy.