A Study In Apprehension

by Ann Brien
(Dublin, Ireland)

School Laneway

Turning into the laneway
my six year old mind
is once again filled with anxiety.
What shall I learn today?
more to the point
what will I not understand?.
Almost there now,
past the red bricks
and the four stone slit windows
then sharp turn left
I'm on the final leg of my journey.

To my left
the red brick building
beckons to its charges,
the solitary cross on its rooftop
portraying a false sense of holiness.
No going back now,
mother's tight hand-grip
preventing all chance of escape.
Greying snow crunches
beneath my sensible school shoes.