FROM SATCHEL TO RUCKSACK: A NEW POEM ABOUT GROWING UP...

From Satchel To Rucksack…

It was Year Seven and I was forced to wear a cap,

Six and seven-eighths was the size, I recall;

A smart leather satchel hung upon one shoulder 

And down to short grey trousers from its long, shiny strap.

I was one of  two freshman boys in the school

Whose knees were bare, forming a weathered gap;

Gunmetal socks were held up by bands 

Of sewn black elastic beneath turnover folds,

Which puckered my skin like a patterned border,

But my patellas were vulnerable to a kick or a fall…

In Year 8 or Year 9 I was granted a rucksack,

Not in army surplus khaki but in airforce blue,

Finally acquired by my father to satisfy a whim

And I wore a cousin's cast-off long trousers, not new…

It was common then to ink the names of favourite bands

Or football teams on the haversack’s long flap,

Many of these were designed artistically,

Leaving barely a space, or a gap…

They featured the tiresome LIVERPOOL, the BEATLES or the ROLLING STONES,

All of which totally failed to inspire,

So instead for me it was the VILLA, THE LOVIN’ SPOONFUL and THE BEACH BOYS,

For simply following the crowd was criminally dire… 

I remember struggling with a scratching biro,

Upon a knobbly surface to make a legible mark,

So that my trends would earn me some street cred’,

As I promenaded through Aston Park…  

Pete Ray

November 2019

12TH BIRTHDAY...

Remembering being one of two Year 7 lads at King Edward’s Aston in short trousers, the other being Ian Price, who was even smaller than me.

I had been bought a really good quality satchel, I think by my Auntie Ivy but it soon became apparent that a satchel wasn’t cool…

15TH BIRTHDAY...

Rucksacks were ‘in’ and I had to plead for one of my own but my dad procrastinated. Eventually, he relented… 

My cousin Steve would hand down clothes for me to wear, being just four months older than me, so at least I was able to escape my short grey trousers for his old long ones. I had fallen down once playing football in the icy school yard and sliced my knee open, so those long trousers were a godsend to me, despite hating wearing someone else’s clothing. 

I can still make out the scar.

My favourite bands were different too and I held onto my individuality, partly because I was selected in both the rugby and cricket teams and somehow, the sports lads at KEGS Aston were granted some strange respect… 

The school didn’t play soccer in those days… 

16TH BIRTHDAY...

17TH BIRTHDAY...