Dick and Jane (Minimoog, Pt 4)

After months
on the stage
at John Ware
never understanding
why we were there
one November morning
we were asked
to pull the plastic drawers
out of our desks
and
to listen carefully
to the instructions
before lining up
and filing out

we were told
we were going to walk
single file
from John Ware
to Nellie McClung
with our desk drawers
in our hands
to ensure
there would be
no mix up
of our books
miscellaneous hardcover textbooks
Ginn most certainly
miscellaneous Dick and Jane

and limp
newsprint tablets
and Pink Pearl erasers
the teacher called rubbers

and Eagle Mirado pencils

because stick pens
in black or blue

were not permitted

until Grade 4

when Mr. Young

had Woodward's Department Store

at Chinook

order a box

sold by the each
at 19 cents each

reminding the clerk

we were Mr. Young's
before continuing on
with dollar forty-nine day
and a dozen honey glazed
or mixed produce
in a bag

we were told

by Miss Taylor

there would be

no stopping

to rest
on the way
so to make sure
we peed
and drank
from the fountain
but not so much
that we would have to
pee

and so we marched
and we entered Nellie One Lung
as some parent
had called it
while Miss Taylor held the door
and inspected our desk drawers
and out attitude
and comportment

once in the school
we were directed
to our classroom
and told not to speak
because there were only dividers
between Grades
and the Grade 6ers
were already there
and not to interrupt them

later
we showed our nails
and our teeth
and our combs
our homework
in that order
to Miss Taylor
who recorded our grooming
and our work
on a chart
with coloured stars
by Denison

red for dirty nails
bad breath
or a filthy comb

green
for significant improvent
on the weeks before
blue
for passable
or acceptable
silver

for perfect attendance
and acceptable hygiene
for two weeks in a row
and gold
for a month
without fault
or missing homework
or a note from home

but beyond gummed stars
and attendance charts
and grooming
we were treated
to lessons
in penmanship
and basic facts
or times tables
and good posture
and manners
and such

I'm sure
we learned much
but I worried
about Dick and Jane
and wondered
whether they would have earned
gold stars
of blue or green
which
we were told
shall never be seen
but those were the days
when we wore checks with plaids
and white socks
with dark pants
and never looked back

and if there was a song
that we learned
in those days
it was probably
Tiny Tim
Tip Toeing Through the Tulips

which

somehow reminded me

of Vera Lynn's

We'll Meet Again

or Lili Marlene

although I didn't understand either of those

either.