Labor Day and the Love of Now

when I was a boy
Labor
Day
meant going back to school
and putting on new jeans, always ill fitting
and uncomfortable and shoes for the first time
in a long while

and school was usually made even
more unbearable by a fall heat spell

and then
there were all those people
and all that sitting around
and all that noise
and all the dead time while the teacher
over and over said something
not very well

and recess,
a breath of fresh
air
and lunch
awful food by how I eat today's standards
but to a child
food
and freedom to move
and playground sports
ah, that was
heaven
for awhile
and

then going back in
and the afternoon takes
forever
and the bus ride
home
and the sweetness
of walking from the bus to my house
or to a friends
house and
changing out of too tight too uncomfortable jeans
and maybe going to the beach to play
or wandering around looking for other kids
to do
we didn't even know what

freedom
and learning
and discovery
vs
sitting
and rules
and conformity
and herding

oh, well:

And now school
is

when I'm awake
or near awake
and realize it

and

School is:
all of life

....