When one has been teaching a long time,
old students stop you in the grocery store
and say, “Remember me?” And you tell them
they sat in the second row by the windows,
but I’ve had thousands of students,
so please tell me your name.
When one has been teaching a long time,
you start having students
of your students, and the children
have such a strong resemblance,
you call them by their parent’s name.
When one has been teaching a long time,
students die from suicide, cancer, car accidents,
and drowning— trying to save their little sister
who didn’t know how to swim either.
When one has been teaching a long time,
classes flow so smoothly, you make it look easy,
and parents recommend you to other parents,
the same way they recommend a good doctor.
