Hiding Under My 3rd Grade Desk

Hiding Under My 3rd Grade Desk David J Walker Mrs. Pollards smile Was enough to reassure every member Of her third-grade class That their world was secure As the crass voice in the Crackling PA speaker announced An End of the World Drill in the Middle of the day Usually, a call to quietly line up And make an orderly march to The hallway where we would Stay crouched in a fetal position Until the voice returned to sound The all-clear But this time was different This time it was Duck & Cover under your desk Was the end really that near? Were the bombs about to fall On Thatcher Elementary in Pueblo, Colorado? Did the commies hate us so much They would rain down missiles On our playground? Not today! Not when It was my turn To pick sides for Kickball A girl named Diane with blonde curls Beside me talk about a sack lunch And tetherball And a game of Jax if the Hopscotch courts were full Would the bombs blast the whole Building away Leaving us huddled under our desks Before recess? Would we walk home among craters Created by Commie planes coming Over the artic just to find us while Reciting the rhythm Of the Times table The Social Studies lesson was About the Pilgrims and how we Should be thankful for freedom In science we were learning About the moon and how soon Someday we would get there If they drop the bomb could we Still watch cartoons at 4 in the afternoon Would there be anything left of the Playground at Mineral Palace Park And what about the swans that Make their home on the park lake How long are we supposed to Stay under these desks I whispered To Mark I don’t know he said As Mrs. Pollard shushed us As we hid and waited for The all-clear