Crisis
I’ve been given the finger
numerous times,
been called shithead,
told suck my dick
(pardon me, Virginia)
and other unappealing things;
even had my tires slashed.
All that’s in the province
of learning how to teach
and teaching the slow learners.
But the words I most recall
were from a strange and silent kid
at the end of the school year.
When I called on him, he said,
Go feed the cows!
Green pastures flashed before my eyes,
an innocent country life
devoid of high school problems.
But I replied, That’s insubordination.
Do you want to go to the office?
Go feed the cows, he repeated.
Those were his final words.
I haven’t told a soul till now
but I thought about it long
and almost did.
John Laue