Friday 5 June 2015

At 16 My Son Left School



(for Joe)


At 16 my son left school.

On the day after the last day

I said, 'So how was it?'

He said, 'It was OK, but it wasn't funny.'

'Don't you mean it wasn't "fun"?' I said.

'No,' he said, 'I mean it wasn't funny.'

'Funny?' I said, 'it wasn't supposed to be funny.

Teachers aren't comedians.'

'Look,' he said, 'before I went to school,

there were loads of jokes. Loads of things

were funny. Then I went to school and

it wasn't funny. Then for years and years

there was school and I kept waiting for it

get funny and it never did. In the

end I realised that it wasn't ever going to

get funny and it didn't. It didn't ever get

funny.'

At 16 my son left school.