Education

Remember how we used to lead each other blindfold
around the school grounds, bottle green scarf tied
darkly round our heads? The sighted led the blind
a long trek down the lime walk, up to the tennis courts
across the lacrosse pitch, over to the swimming pool,
chatting a mile a minute all the way.

At last we'd say Now guess where you are! Guess!
and the blind girl would sometimes know exactly
where she was, a tremendous feat of concentration,
more often was wildly confused, knew she felt grass
underfoot but imagined herself on the other side
of the grounds entirely - stared in disbelief
when the blindfold came off at the beech hedge
at the furthest boundary, where sometimes boys
were glimpsed in muddy football gear.

Of course at first you'd know where you were,
which way you were headed, but distances became
hard to gauge, a sudden turn to the left threw
your inner map entirely, and then you were lost.