Poem #1 tonight comes
out of lots of rambling thoughts about all the kinds of love that drive a
person. I watched a sweet movie titled IF that gave me all the feels about
lost creativity, loneliness, missing people that have died, what is that thing
that fuels us when we are young that gives us courage, and many thoughts about
love. I appreciated a tear or two of such a sentimental romp to get my feelings
primed and ready!
Poem #2 comes out of
the intangible, tangible, and real feelings; it is to be an educator of any
kind today. It was a hard day, and there are days I wonder if it is worth it,
but then I see where the child could go and learn and do just like when my son
was tiny. There is a madness of love wrapped up in teaching, too.
Love Comes Round
What makes love die?
That glow inside
That is overwhelming
Where we are delving
Deep into subjects,
sonnets
Making mice little
bonnets
Because it makes us
happy
To spend hours getting
tappy
Find lost horizons
Around every bend
Love plants the seed
Finding the need
We didn’t know calls
us
To get on a bus
And just go somewhere
Because it is there
It is the unknown
We’re in the zone
Until we’re not
We feel caught
We lost that bet
Tangled in our net
We long to be set free
Now! Now, we plead
To a heart that stopped
That time’s forgot
Can it be revived?
So few even try
Only by love
Which never shoves
It is a tickle on the
ear
Whispered still and
clear
Come here, come here!
Love is always near
The Lesson: Daedalus’
Design and Icarus’ Lament
Criss-crossed wires
that inspire
Are the same ones that
strangle me
I teach those who run
away from education
The same lesson that
seems endless
To my students, it is
doubly so to me
As they flee the
building with an expiration date
That is clear and
nearer than mine
People praise me as
divine
Because I spend my
days
Figuring out ways of
tricking students
Into learning the
stuff that they label boring
And I know it is
essential
It is as practical as
picking up a utensil
And feeding yourself
Which most folks don’t
remember learning
But they lean on that
every single day
It is as a proud
parent
I pick up that fork off
the ground
And hand it back to
the petulant child
Who likes the sound
of it hitting tile
Or seeing me bend over, exasperated
In wanting the meal to
matter
I give that child the nutrients
it needs
By learning how to
feed
With the tool, it is
handed
So, they won’t starve
Or crudely have to
live hand to mouth
I teach them to carve
Out a place or on that
plate
And I lift that to
them, too
When it flies by full
of good food
And the student toddler
giggles
Then cries demanding
more
I have them help clean
up the floor
And I replenish sustenance
Improving our moods
As they begin to chew
They use the fork
They cannot cork their
bark
As they bray at the
moon
Longing to know how
soon
They can travel there
Because of me, they’ve
discovered how to
Education leaves a
mark
Eventually you breathe
As a student concedes
There is life after
school or class
This teacher unplugs
and sags
Glowing with pride
The turmoil of the
hour subsides
I am paid with more
than I spent
Undone, no turmoil
Flying close to the sun
Wings intact, ready for
another attempt
