Now that I'm older

The School Gate was a sight I hated,
Felt my heart sink
Whenever I saw it
Damn Building
Wanted to burn it down myself
Half a million times

I realized real soon
that education
was less about enlightening
than it was about inculcating
making good little replicas
of the previous generations

My opinions weren't needed
students were not philosophers
the dictum of
an overworked, allegedly underpaid
government appointed
being
became our dogma

they would -
like all governing bodies
expound beautiful platitudes and
noble concepts
which they invariably
dismissed before our eyes
by their actions
But
we were not to question this
we were not qualified to

but then
one day
I left that building
and suddenly
i was expected to have an opinion
the universe decided that i should
"Know " now
That the blood -
long paused and replaced
with rote learning
should flow free
that brains - long fogged
with hazy explanations
should reason on its own
that a being
long cowed
into conformity
should
stand up and face
the brave new world

and so I sat and I laughed at myself