School Days Poem by Mai Murphy Venn

My days at school were, Oh' so bad.
When I left it, sure I was glad.
There was many a nun I had; you know
Some I liked and some I hated so.
One I called Blunder Buster of the Duster.
You should see her when she got in a fluster.
She would grab the duster and fly high.
All the children would bend down as it passed by.
Sometime she would unscrew the leg of the chair.
It was like a boomerang as it went here and it went there
Believe me, she was not the worse of them all.
There was another, holding a cane, walks up and down every hall.
She told us if we did not do what we were told.
We would go down to hell for we were bold.
The very day that I reach, my birthday of seven.
She told us of a place named hell and a place called heaven.
We had to go to nine o'clock Sunday Mass or we got the cane.
Punishing children just for her pleasure, was she normal or insane?
Well, she dead now, I wonder where she is? Heaven or Hell.
I query if her cane is with her, but dead nuns can not tell.
There was one another nun that was nice as could be.
The only thing about her, she was not nice to me.
She treated me so unkind; she cast me to the far offline.
I learn I had no father's name; I was made to feel the shame.
There were other kids just like me, which felt unwanted as could be.
Sins of lovers that never marry, they would go and they would tarry.
Say goodbye, farewell, adieu, but at last, never ever marry.
How I wanted to learn, but nay, they did not inspire.
Instead, we in the far row became the slaves of the apostolic hire.
To embroidery stitches of religious symbols on white linen.
I crochet vestment for the holy foreign mission for my sinning.
We were in slavery to the holy Catholic Church.
Years later the religious were to leave us there in the lurch.
They preach of Faith, Hope, and Charity for the entire human race
But down through the years, that same church has lost its place

Mai Venn