(Brackets)

It was Wednesday. Maths. Page 28
And I was already thinking about tomorrow
Thursday. Maths. Page 29

We were doing problems.
The ones where you have to remove the brackets first.

I was on question 13 and right inside a bracket.
When this strange phrase came into my head.
And before I could trap it in a bracket
It shot out of my mouth
Into the classroom.

'Bring on the dancing prunes!'

The room was silent
And 30 pairs of bracket-solving eyes
Swivelled in my direction
The teacher stopped putting crosses
In somebody's maths book
And looked crossly at me.
"What did you say?"

I could have told him.
But instead.
I put a bracket around my reply.
'Nothing.'

The teacher sighed.
'How would it be if EVERYBODY
Called out the first thing that came into their heads?'