ABCD EFG HIJK LMNOP QRS TUV WXYZ
A Bright Child who could Read at 5
I couldn’t Pronounce the Sounds I’d never Heard
Just because the Desks were Full
I was sent up a Grade from Class One
To Where the Kids were Big and Bold.
But I was much too Young
I was Never Taught my ABCs
Quiet, I Never spoke an EXtra Word.
Dictionaries were Mysterious books
Where Words appeared by Chance
In Libraries I was lost among the Shelves
I never learnt to Sing the Alphabet
Even when I got all As at my Os
I was always Out of Order
At University I couldn’t get the Dewey
System Crooked or Straight
Until I was 50 and doing my MA
Did I deserve a Very Good or a Zed Grade?
ABCD EFG HIJK LMNOP QRS TUV XYZ
It’s a hard life if you are illiterate.
4 Comments on “My Alphabet”
Similar early school experiences!
Hi Lorraine – yes – when the world was trying to get back to normal after WW2 – I don’t suppose there was much investment in schools during the war but there was a baby boom!
I love this poem. I confess, I don’t know what a Dewey is.
Hi Anita – thank you! Not sure it deserves to be called a poem though – I was in a rush and having some fun with the alphabet – wish I could have found an Abecedaria with interesting fonts. The Dewey I didn’t know is the cataloguing system for library books according to subject and author. It’s a long time since I was in a library searching for a reference – it’s all done online now.