CHALK & CHAIRS

there was no announcement
in any of the papers
& nothing on tv

no sirens
no shoutout
no sign

but i reckon / know / feel 

that all my teachers are gone now
dead / defeated / downsized
retired into the garden with crosswords

& they cant make me
reduce quadrilaterals
read steinbeck aloud
to anything ever again

in 

their 

compulsory fiefdoms

of chalk & chairs