She is tough
and I am not.
I am the teacher, but
she sits in the second seat of the first row
being tough.
I want to tell her that her
edges are all wasted on me.
She doesn’t like any of the assignments.
She doesn’t believe in “structure.”
She asks for help, and then, says, “No.”
“Why?”
“I like it better my way.”
I smile a lot at her.
I think she hates that.
I would hate it, too, if I were seventeen,
trying my hardest to be angry
from the second seat of the first row –
and my teacher smiled at me
and said, “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here.”
I will smile at her for a hundred and sixty-eight more days.
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5 comments:
I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about this blog. And I just don't understand how anyone would hate you!
I would have enjoyed that poem simply as a reader....but as a teacher.....that hits home.
I really enjoy the structure of this poem. The repetition of "speaker" vs. "subject" works rather nicely to build a poignant, fitting tension that underscores what it is like to teach such students. It reminds me of this activity in which I took part in my Zen meditation workshop this spring term at Bennington: "Indian Tug-o-War". Ever heard of it? Two people. Each stands on a cushion, box, platform of some kind. The goal is merely to knock your opponent off his/her balance, so that s/he is dislodged from aforesaid platform. Initially, most people try to tug the other person off aggressively; an experienced, mindfully aware person would easily deal with this by letting go. It's all about give and take, being aware of your opponent and feeling the rope in your hand... kind of like in a conversation between two people. The rope is a line of communication. The "smile" in your poem perfectly exemplifies the gentle concave, the giving purposefully into aggression.
:) i thoroughly enjoyed reading this. you were (and im sure still are) a wonderful teacher and I miss creative writing so so so so (times a million more so's) much. although i still do it daily, i miss the stroutinator "touch up" to my writing.
Ever think of doing an extra class for creative writing alumni? haha
lovely :)
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