It happened almost every year, when the school photograph was taken, that some young rascal, who'd been positioned at the end of a row, darted round the back to the other end of the assembly as the camera slowly panned across to capture the images of several hundred boys, thus ensuring that he appeared twice when the photograph was printed.
It generally occurred because of a dare, although quite often it was just for the sheer fun of it. The consequence of such tomfoolery was usually a sound thrashing, back in those good old days when such things were not just acceptable but expected.
TWICE
In childhood, briefly, there were two of me.
The day the old man with the camera came
and we, the schoolboys, in five platform rows,
sat while the panoramic camera froze
our image, slowly panning round. My name
was mud when father learned I’d run
from one end to the other just for fun
and in the picture, at both ends, was me.
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