HONOURABLE MENTION FROM WRITE ON ISSUE 53
BY LUCY BARGE, YEAR 11, MOUNTAIN VIEW HIGH SCHOOL
Friday, are you satisfied yet —
Your hand clamped against my mouth
So I can never scream?
Students say you are a blessing
But only a burden would make this head sink
Into the assessment papers on my desk,
Eyes shut over the due date of Friday.
You know I would be dead in your grasp
Should Saturday not overtake you
Leaving behind greasy fish ‘n’ chips
That make my stomach sick.
You laughed in my face when
I turned up to school in navy skirt, white blouse
Only to discover it was mufti day —
Thank you kindly, Friday.
You owe me the nights that you fill with
Drunken cries, smashed bottles, screeching cars
Outside my tired window —
Holding me for as long as you can
Until you must let go.
I fear that I will die right here
In the loathsome heart of
Friday.
This poem is a part of the Honourable Mention series, for those pieces of writing submitted to Write On Issue 53 (Summer 2019/2020) that we couldn't quite fit into the magazine.
© Write On: School for Young Writers and the poet, 2019