Always a major blessing in my life ... students ... individuals ... treasures I will never forget. The students I worked with, both on the Elementary and High School levels, taught me more about life than I could ever claim to have taught them.
On Teaching Michael the
Finer Points of Woodshop and Skipping Rocks
~Michael walks the corridor
Side to side stride
Eyes fixed to the asphalt
Split second glance
To stay his course
Most days
A solitary walk
No "Hey, dude. What's up?"
No slap or slide of the hand
No testosterone bump
But for those
Who will share the time
"Hi, Michael."
And if you give your eyes
He offers his exquisite smile
Sawdust flying
Hand over hand
Hammer and its nails
Paint and its brush
Wrapping a cord
Pushing a saw
I guide his hand
Michael guides my heart
~Michael walks the path
Side to side stride
With joy
A creek side class
On the hunt
For the perfect flat rock
Simple delight
The feel of the stone
The sound of the clunk
No skip
No matter
I sit
Watching reverently
The fullness of their smiles
The cheer in their always perfect eyes
Michael
taps gently on my head
Mischievous wink
"Hello, is anybody home in there?"
And when Michael came to us
With curtness
"You won't be able to get him to do much."
It's obvious
They knew nothing
About woodshop and skipping rocks
Copyright jr 2004
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Swoops a hand
interrupting
rainbow’s somnolence
in a tin bed of crayola
Scrutinize
a gathering of brights and pastels
One by one
laying his palette
in a chromatic dress parade
Attention!
Ian’s colors
embellishments upon humanity
crayoned by eyes
seeing from outside the line
A moment of clarity
refines the teacher
My thoughts ramble
follow the waves
of Ian’s design . . .
We are all God’s masterpiece
. . . and I
I am the student
. . . Ian?
our mentor
revealed
among the words
perfectly balanced on the tip of his tongue
…………………………..for Ian and his colors
From Mrs. Watson …………………………….
Copyright jr 2005
