Boy in a shiny grey suit

Boy in a shiny grey suit *

Eighth grade graduation, June 1964, Riverside Public School , London Ontario

There was hormonal misfiring,

Storm clouds of anguish were gathering,

And cluelessness to boot.

Suffering and torture,

Searching and pure horror,

In the world of the shiny grey suit.

Popularity was dominant;

Party invitations, so prominent;

About grades, no one gave the slightest hoot.

Physical appearance

Was the sole form of clearance

In the world of the shiny grey suit.

Parents were proud of their graduates,

Who were forced to wear amulets,

Stuffed into clothing, and told to be cute.

But jealousy and competition

Made up the default position

In the world of the shiny grey suit.

Many are long since departed;

Others barely got started;

Their demise came before they took root.

They were lambs to the slaughter,

Or clay in the hands of a malevolent potter,

Including the boy in the shiny grey suit.

*Front row, seated, second on the left

Your friend,

Robert

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