Living With the Other Side

Class; they say it

doesn’t exist any more -

but how else to explain

the extreme discomfort

passing through turnstiles

and into the private gym,

knowing that my comprehensive

school, less than five minutes

walk away, was somewhere

these people would never

consider sending their children?

 

Fists clenched, shoulders tensed,

I would feel the weight

of knowledge sinking confidence,

 

catapulted into a strange, new existence

where Pizza Hut was not the best

restaurant in which to celebrate;

fish could be served whole – scales, bones,

head and piercing eyes –

to be eaten at tables set with more

than one fork;

and elbows-off-table practise

was how you prepared to meet

a potential step-father’s parents.

 

Mum accused me of being ridiculous

and ungrateful as she geared up

to leave council estates behind.

She’d already embraced the accessories

of their world: serviettes, avocadoes;

the G&T.

 

Was one of them.

 

Author's Note

It was a confusing time. They aren't even that posh, but we were basically seen as scum, making an attempt on the inheritance haha.

Reviews

[zig]

great stuff c. this write most likey pinches on a lot of peoples hearts/minds. i grew up poor and in a bad neighborhood. now i own a coffee shop in a very well-to-do upper middle class neighborhood, and of course moved into the area to be close to the cafe... but i might as well be living on jupiter... this place does not make any sense to me at all, and i dont fit in very well... it gets very lonely. this place is very plastic and i easily get depressed... i am homesick. great write my friend. zig

[Babbette Francis]

Wow,
thats quite a battle of heart and soul and you've written it so well.
I felt the divide of being true to yourself and whats strived after. All that wrapped up in one piece...again I say, you've written it so well!

[Damien Dsoul]

There's a hint of cynicism in your words, and it's not mean lightly or literally. Though it ends with a sad note.

[Emily B]

I understand a little. I'm not sure I could ever be part of the country club crowd.