Every lesson you teach,
Will split at the seams,
As though the stitching,
Was never there to begin with,
Each question hanging in silence,
And confusion,
Like water soaked up in a ceiling tile,
There will be a leak up there you didn't, couldn't, see,
And your talents will break beneath their own weight,
And collide with the floor,
It will look as if you didn't try,
As hard as you did.
And there will be those who wanted,
To see you taken down a notch or two,
And they will see it,
And you will see a sigh of relief,
From the faces watching,
As the last drops of water,
Go down the drain,
But there's an old story -
About the burning of Troy,
And Aeneas - The loser who left,
Knowing something was ahead,
For the sake of what was behind,
And thus Troy moved on, and became Rome,
And the Romans we do remember,
They are still measurable, you've seen their buildings,
In person, or in pictures on glossy magazine pages,
They existed outside the will of the gods,
And outside the tales told,
Before humans wrote,
And you too will remember,
For the sake of what is ahead.
This is me every time I lesson plan.
ReplyDeleteLeave it to Mr. Records to write a poem that almost all educators can relate to! I especially like the way you write about the burning of Troy.
I'm a huge history buff, and that section of your poem just spoke to me.
We are not in a fortress, we are very susceptible to failing, but we have each other to fall back on, and together we can do this!
Thanks for the poem!
Wow my friend! Thank you for this. I realize this is a copycat poem in style, but it is so uniquely you. The vivid water imagery, so deftly woven through the entire poem, sets up an engaging contrast to the burning of Troy. I like that you choose to mention Aeneas. When most people talk about Troy, they mention Helen or Achilles; Aeneas is often forgotten, which proves your point. We do remember Rome, though we may not realize that Rome’s greatness came equally from triumphs as well as defeats—winners as well as losers. The lesson I will take away from your excellent poem and keep in my teacher head is to realize that as much comes from failing as from succeeding and that even when we feel we have failed, we may still make an impact. I do not know if this was the lesson you intended, but I think it is worth remembering.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, I enjoy the rhythm and structure of this poem immensely, as well as the alliteration. Stylistically this poem is very sound, and I think you ought to submit it to some sort of teacher publication, possibly the new publication KATE is putting together. I cannot remember the details, but you should ask Dr. Mason! I would like to see this in print. Thank you again.
Krystal
Brian! So much wow. You did an excellent job imitating the style of the poem. I particularly enjoyed the story at the end, involving the Romans. This may be because of what we discussed and I know that you've been brushing up on your already vast knowledge of literature, specifically in this area! Like Krystal has said, you should consider getting this published. Your writing, as usual, is impressive. I could feel the emotion as a student teacher and all of my fears within this poem. Any writing that evokes strong emotion while integrating vivid descriptions is worthy of sharing! So much wow. amiRITE?! :)
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking!
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes. Publication. Krystal is right. Lots of avenues you could take. English Journal (national, very competitive) or Kansas English (regional, not as competitive), or your English profs might have some other ideas. E-mail me if you want details on where to submit.
You've used great imagery in your poem. It adds great power. Thanks for sharing your beautiful poem.
ReplyDelete