I loved childhood Mondays,
those start-the-week days,
back-to-school days
of stories, songs and poetry.
They smelled of pencils, paint and ink,
clean uniforms, faded dinner stink,
disinfectant and freshly waxed floors.
We sat in rows, our desks clear,
blackboard clean, blank slates
waiting for the teacher to write the date.
Kim M. Russell, 4th February 2020
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: What Day is is Anyway?
Sarah is our Poetics host this week and she has treated us to an anecdote and a poem in Yorkshire dialect all about the days of the week, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It reminds of the days when were certain jobs for each day of the week, and even certain foods – I remember it well from living with my grandmother when I was a child!
She has also shared poems by Richard Allen Taylor and Billy Collins.
Sarah would like us to choose a day, think about the features of that day, and then write poems about the ways different days feel to us.
writing in north norfolk 
I love the couplets, Kim! It’s good to see a Monday enthusiast. I love your schoolday imagery, and that feel of a fresh start – how lucky we are to have a fresh start every week. If only I could see it like that every week!
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Family, friends, and husband in particular, all think I’m weird for liking Mondays, and early mornings.
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I’m not wild about Mondays, but I do like that September “new term” feel – even though I haven’t started a term for quite a long time.
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Oh yes, even as a teacher I loved that ‘new term’ feeling.
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I can remember as a child how excited I was as the first day of the school year approached and getting to wear a new outfit. There is something special about that time.
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Ooh, new bag, pencil case, pens and pencils!
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I read the line about the smell of pencils, and was immediately back at school, how strange and wonderful.
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I love the smells of writing and painting materials!
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I’ve recently got back into sketching, and oddly enough I think the smell of the graphite is part of what I find soothing.
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The couplets seem to go well with the feeling of delight in this poem, but I’m not sure why. A new week is indeed like a blank slate.
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I tried it two other ways, but the couplets won!
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Your poem got me thinking about school and the Monday thing and I honestly can’t remember what I felt about it. It’s very strange, having memories of things, events, people, conversations but not of what it all meant to me. As if I wasn’t there at all. You are lucky to remember such happy feelings.
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I think my feelings about school had something to do with what was going on at home, Jane. Apart from my grandparents’ house, school was a happy place for me, where I had space to read and write, draw and paint.
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Ah, the child’s perspective depends on so many things. School was a good place for me too, but there was nothing untoward at home to contrast it with.
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Monday would be a day when one could expect the school to be clean. At least there was enough time to clean it.
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For school, I loved Mondays too, but when I started working for a living, the day was drenched in shades of blue.
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Yes, I’ve had those shades of blue. Now the days are all much of a muchness.
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I loved how Monday once felt… so different these days. So many good things happened, all the friends were back, but growing older it dulled into grey.
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Now I’m retired, Monday’s will never be the same.
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Monday, the start of the week day, when everything is still clean and tidy. The photo adds a nice touch. It makes me think of an empty laundry hamper. Oh how it fills as the week goes rolling by.
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Thank you, Ali. My husband and I are both in the photograph. My laundry hamper seems to be empty for only a few minutes a week!
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I liked the poem. It sounds like a good idea.
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You took me back to school days. Every school I have ever entered has had the same smell, disinfectant, lunches, pencil shavings, and something undefinable that equates to lack of freshness. LOL.
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🙂
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Yes, Mondays always a day to start again! Love this and the picture!
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Thank you, Mary!
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you describe school days so well, they were also a treat for me 🙂
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Thank you, Kate.😊
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You brought back memories for me too, especially in the olfactory department. I like the unique positivity of Mondays in your poem! Hopefully there are still students today who feel the same enthusiasm.
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Thank you, Mish!
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i worked my way backwards reading the prompts today and am so glad i get to read this last. i too so loved my childhood Mondays and you have said it in the most endearing way.
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Thank you so much, Gina!
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