A leafy suburban avenue
Nice
and quiet as a rule
But
this peaceful avenue
Leads
to a junior school
Alone
or in twos and threes
They
begin to arrive
Up
the road in time
For
home time at three oh five
In
variety they gather
Mostly
mums or minders
Aunts
or siblings
And
dads in growing numbers
Some
arrive on foot
But
mostly they have a ride
Some
plod wearily
While
others proudly stride
An
illegally parked parent
Falls
foul of the law
And
the language matches
From
the driver’s door
The
throng of adults
Arranged
about the gate
Gossip
and chat idly
While
they stand and wait
The
door bursts open
And
boisterous kids spill out
Some
crane neck to see
While
others give a shout
Some
appear dishevelled
And
others prim and neat
Untucked
clothes
And
laces flap about their feet
Some
run to the gate
Others
trudging and lagging
With
coats or bags following
Behind
them dragging
The
children drawn like moths
Towards
the light
Amidst
the heaving throng
The
families reunite
Occasionally
one’s dispatched
At
a parent’s behest
To
retrieve forgotten items,
A
lunch box or a vest
Not
all the children leave
At
home time though
Some
stay an hour or two
Before
its time to go
Working
parents
Unable
to find someone to sub
Need
to send their children
To
after school club
In
minutes the disgorging mass
Drifts
from the gate
The
crowd dispersing
As
a stream of cars evacuate
It
came like a tornado
Who’s
sound assaults the ear
Then
once more returned
To
peaceful leafy suburbia
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