I Can’t Teach
Tired, sleeping on the keyboard
dreaming of grades...numbers...letters
Dozing over stanzas...paragraphs...pages
Shaking them off I rise.
I raise my weary head
Shake it all off.
the letters from their pages slip...fall
off the white page yet even on the screen
tipping it to the side...the letters gather
in the corner...huddled tightly together
Avoiding the wicked red pen!
They try to escape..they run...
they slip and slide.
Off to cower and shiver and hide.
The desire to correct is gone.
The wish to help sucked out.
The longing to say, "good job." feels wrong.
They did half of it..or none.
Oh here they come...
Mom and dad on the bone...
My backside hurts from the nips
My psyche aches from the assaults
My heart burns from the nerves
Will the onslaught subside?
Only when they are heard.
Only when they get their way..
Keep them home I say...
Let me teach...
Get outa my way.