Sunday, November 19, 2017

Years of My Life

A Journey from 1944 to … Now

2002–2003 School Year
Western Reserve Academy

A part-time year—and I was glad:
Full-time had been too much for me.
I didn’t need more time to see.
I loved the classes that I had.

I taught just juniors from then on—
“A single prep” (as teachers say):
Just one class to prepare each day.
When I looked up—each day was gone.

Among the texts we read each year
Was Hamlet—you have heard of it!
I learned to love it (oh, the wit!)—
And hope I taught kids not to fear

The language of that wordy Bard,
Who dazzles every time I read
Or see his plays. Are we agreed
That, sure, his language can be “hard,”

But benefits flow from the work
That you must do to read his verse
(Like pulling gold coins from a purse!)—
Though he still made some go berserk?

The writing of America
Composed the rest of English III—
And that was so all right with me:
My favorite writers—lovely, huh?

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