Two rafters and a cross-tie on the slate Are the letters some call ah, some call ay. There are charts, there are headlines, there is a right Way to hold the pen and a wrong way. First it is 'copying out,' and then 'English' Marked correct with a little leaning hoe. Smells of inkwells rise in the classroom hush. A globe in the window tilts like a coloured O.

The Haw Lantern (1987). Alphabets, I