Foilage

Reaching, grasping, stretching, asking,

Pleading, pouring out my heart

Hoping, praying, matching, watching,

Knowing, seeing, slicing lots.

They don’t get it,

They don’t see it—

Here for them to step upon.

They won’t take it,

They don’t want it—

They want to fight it all alone.

I’m a person, human, lively,

Caring, wishing, loving, aching,

Trying, wracking with hard turns

To keep my eye on hopeful ends.

I’m a person, I don’t care

About only academics and literature.

I’m a teacher—

I nurture lives

Beyond the classroom.

I teach, I grow, I prune, I cry,

Watering the foliage with love

As they twist away.

I’m a teacher, and all I can pray

Is above all else,

I teach them Christ.