Michael

Michael fell asleep in class last week,

face down on the desk.

Spark out in the middle of maths.

Mr Jones told us off for laughing, but

didn’t seem cross with him at all.

Michael plays alone at break.

He just stands, staring into space,

watching the sky. Looking odd.

But the teacher on duty always goes

over and chats to him.

They never do that for us.

Michael only has a biscuit in his lunchbox

most days so the cook gives him stuff

for free.

Michael never takes his shoes and socks off

even when we do gym or dance

and Mr Jones lets him –

we all have to do it barefoot.

Michael gets loads of stickers

and certificates off all the adults

whenever he does anything.

Once, Leah swears she saw the Head,

Mrs Malone, wipe away a tear after she’d

seen his book and he’d only written a sentence.

Michael must be really lucky.

© Matt Goodfellow from Being Me: Poems About Thoughts, Worries and Feelings. Otter-Barry 2021