The End of School

Today was the last day of school for us. Here are two poems, one older and one newer, on the end of school.

Doodles on my Desk

Today's the final day of school,
And I am glad to go.
My head's chock-full of learning,
And other things I'll have to know.

I'm scrubbing at my desk lid.
It's graffitied and tattooed.
My masterpiece is fading.
How could my teacher be so rude?

There are flowers, signatures,
The names of ex-boyfriends.
But all must blur and be erased
At the school year's end.

The smileys, hearts, and pictures
Are now left to history.
No one else will see them now.
Not my teachers, friends, or me.

I scrub the last of them away.
My perfect, perfect art.
And yet, my legacy lives on
Graffitied on my heart.

Cleaning Out My Desk

Once again, it's time
For us to clean out our desks.
I'll need a hacksaw, a torch, and a map.
(A desk's bowels are rather grotesque.)

I open the lid. It's dark inside.
I start work on my pencil tray.
I find lead, erasers, and notes,
And candy that's seen better days.

I dump the whole lot in my backpack.
Then I pull out textbooks and trash.
I find an overdue library book
And thirteen bucks-all in cash!

Drawings of much despised teachers,
Colored pencils, pens, and more books.
The pile grows taller than I am,
And my classmates crowd 'round for a look.

At the very, very bottom,
There's old homework, a magnet, a comb.
I'm done, but I have a new problem:
How do I get this stuff home?

--R.e. Mayes

Note: My desk is not a virtual bio hazard, and I do not draw on my desk top.