Situation Critical

There’s something in the air,
I can feel it,
Something there
That might suggest that
A fight could be
On the cards tonight.
It’s not just me:
I have seen the eyes
Flicking round
And darting down
Like raindrops ashamed of their clouds:
Static in the sky
And tension in the atmosphere
Building up.
We could get thunder in here.


Too many strangers
With too little space,
Exams and life’s stresses
Worry every young face.
The smallest noise
Could be the trigger,
For every big boy
There’s another bigger,
The walls are too close,
The ceiling’s too low.


To wait, to measure landed blows?
Or to get out, escape, go?