Why I Teach

Hello!

You have reached

a teacher –

in the realms

of frenzied spirits,

chaotic mental mania,

without beginning, without end,

moving toward some distant goal,

a flushing toilet

whoooooshing out of control.

TEACHER

T-

I teach because I make a difference.

A tree whose branches reach out

and cover those who perch beneath,

leaves turning color

beneath a harvest moon.

I am taffy

pulled by many hands.

I never break.

A tossing, turning, tumbling me.

E-

I am eyeglasses

to see the world

clearly,

differently,

with an open mind.

Escape from the mundane.

Escape into a future waiting

for you.

A-

I am

an ant the government tries to step on

while I carry 100 times my weight

in students on my back.

I am Alive!

All fired up!

Apple pie, ala mode.

C-

I am a compass

responding to the magnetism of my students.

Colorless like air

yet essential for life to continue.

A candy cane

hung on a Christmas tree,

caring

constant

cajoling

crying.

I will survive.

H-

I am hopeful

like a tiny sea turtle

crawling toward the light.

A hurdie-gurdie rhythm band.

A headache

caused by a loud rock song

stuck in your heart.

A hopeful dancer

choppy, uncoordinated movements,

without rhythm,

without beauty

without a costume

because I wasn’t good enough to get one,

but I dance anyway.

E-

I am earth

turned and muddy.

R-

I am an exit sign

red on a dull, beige wall.

I roar like ocean waves

splashing on rocks

ready to crumble and chip,

turn to sand.

TEACHER

A kaleidoscope

changing shape,

a morphing blob,

  hips shaking

  head bobbin’

  lips moving

  fingers snappin’

I am bodacious –

I am a slippery seal

balancing a ball on my nose

while juggling multicolored rings on my flippers and tail,

a tiger circling her young,

an elephant carrying precious memories.

I am an owl

staring into darkness asking “Who?  Who?”

I speak their names –

Wes, Gabby, Malcolm, McQuisha.

I am dreams of purple royalty –

passionate sorrow.

The azure blue of an evening sky

that bursts strange across the horizon,

predictable but startling.

The colors of a fire

and sometimes I need a good stoking.

Teaching is like the peeling of an onion

causing tears along the way,

like the fruity assault of Pop Rocks exploding,

an everlasting Gobstopper,

a warhead.

Like the smell of popcorn at the movies

there is no mistaking who I am.

So,

again “Hello”.

You have reached a teacher.

I am currently busy

taking attendance

preparing lesson plans

teaching to the tests

writing letters of recommendation

while giving hugs and wiping tears,

in addition to

creating positive feedback

and exposing students to literature

with universal themes

to be used in making life decisions.

Something happens here,

but keep your message brief.

I haven’t had a pottie break all day.