Member-only story
This is the one everyone is going to want to read first
a poem
This is the one everyone is going to want to read first
The one where it’s my first day, I am nervous but I have on a nice purple and black dress
And my love sent me flowers and a note to new beginnings
To how proud he is of me
I remember when I got the job and he was so happy he hugged me in the kitchen and I wondered what I had done to deserve so much love and admiration
I started strong
I tried
I loved the kids
I had ideas
I had hope
I got beat down so fast
Maybe if I had started this job when I was in my 20’s
Maybe if I had started this job because I went to school for it and
Knew what I was doing and getting into
Maybe if I had started this job in a nation where the class size was 10 kids to one adult
And things had funding and better hours and better working conditions and better everything
Maybe if I had done one of a thousand different things
I would be writing poems about the joy of teaching
The sparkles in the eyes of children learning
The peace and quiet of the classroom
The extra time and money
Instead of poems of regret and mourning and wondering what, if anything
Will anyone be proud of me for now
