Teach

Teach

by Carmen H Gray

Fourteen years of 28 gone by

I piled more things to the side for goodbye

There wasn’t enough time to go through it all

I glanced at the artwork, left lonely on the wall

Sighing, I conjured up all that I’d taught

And the many nuances that each of us brought

To this space confined between four walls

And beyond even that, into empty halls

I could hear sniffles and tears; the children who needed healing

And laughter, the “hello, Ms. Gray’s,” while excitedly squealing

I packed it all up-those sights and those sounds

And headed outside to the gardens and grounds

Where the rosemary was named and the aloe was tended

Where the fig tree was climbed and fairy houses blended

Into the rocks and into the places where the leaves unfurled

This is where little hands created imaginary worlds

I kept the sadness tucked inside, unyielding

My son saw me and asked how I was feeling

I told him the school, his school, was going away

I glimpsed his face, the boyhood cheeks gave way

To a chiseled, grown up profile

He looked back at me with a smile

Though still lost in my thoughts, and feeling distracted

He gently whispered,

“Mama, just think of how many lives you’ve impacted”