There are parts of life in which we can only be bystanders and watch the evolution of the ones we know. Your compassion for those you have thought show that depth of your sincerity...

nice work Karen...

Art Sun...

As a teacher, mother, grandmother, sister, writer, you touch many lives in many ways. You surely have left an imprint on some lives...M
I sometimes think of old friends of long ago and wonder what has become of them . Guess thats part of living .............M

To live is to taste the flavors of life, and then to sing when you taste its bitter sweetness! Enjoyed

from a loving caring teacher, true from the heart verse, of course they say you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink,
you start them off on the way to think, then it's up to them if they swim or sink, :-} hugs

Such compassion in this, Karen...it's one of the most important things a teacher can possess!

Great poem,I enjoy reading it,take care

Edwin

Karen your words express a lesson for us. How do we live and how do we chose to live. Thank you for sharing.

Newfie Hugs, Rose

compassion expressed in the questioning of the reasons why...some lives seem more or less blessed than others, one can only love and bless as they are encountered..

Very caring compassionate troubled poem. It does seem sometimes that the world is a vale of tears or a valley of laughing hyenas.

This was good and posed some great thoughts for when we let loose of our responsibility to others and when theirs begins...well done.

Allen

Karen you ae a compassionate person and I can imagine how you must second-guess your thoughts/actions being a teacher By what I read of your work, you are very fair minded and wise,so feel at ease.;-)

Love,
Eileen

Good question at the end of a marvelous poem. Existing, I suppose is like waiting behind iron bars or sitting endlessly in the merge lane of a super highway. Sometimes these situations can't be helped. But living suggests a degree of freedom. Some have a little while others seem to have a lot. As you know I was trapped for 30 years and was not allowed to speak my mind. But I could dream and my oh my how I soared. Reminds me of the story about a little boy who was forced by his teacher to sit down and be quiet for the rest of the class. And he said to himself, "I might be sitting on the outside, but in my heart, I'm standing." I visited one of my old teachers and asked if I could give him a hug. He was surprised, as I was in my 40's at the time. I told him how much I appreciated the fact that he believed me and motivated me when I was in his grade 9 class. Thank you for this wonderful poem. Blessings, J'nia

Teachers, perhaps they were more than OK before, in the old days when respect to her authority was paramount with teaching, when her/his pupils came from homes with a determinate goal, when they, the children, were sad when need to go one class up with another teacher, when courtesy was expected.
Todays teacher are hearing too often from "her children" more than not, about drugs, unwanted pregnancy, jail.
That must cause untold pain to any teache's heart.

Georg

Your last line says it all, Karen.

Powerfully penned, Karen; very well written!

(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tx., Karen Lynn. :(

Karen you and I both know that existing until the world turns in our favor can be a way of life. It may not be the best way but if we chose to look back through history we are not alone. The cavemen who watched their game dissappear over a hill felt no doubt the same, the persecuted by the Romans...same, the Jews in Nazi Germany...same. I guess what we all and many more have in common is hope that someday things will get better for us as a people and as an individual.

hugs
Fee

Karen,
You wrote, "Is it enough to have my kids graduate, And just send them on their way, With a few poingnant words interspersed with..."
First of all, you helped them get that first degree which is so important. So many kids are dropping out of schools today, and we know that the job situation is already bad and to try to find a job with out at least a high school education will be terrible. Secondly and maybe more importantly, you never know which of those poignant words might be the catalist that gives them the motivation to move forward to a life that is truely worth living. Good write my friend.
Marilyn

I'm sad about the plight of our young today - they face so much conflict we never had to face in our time. An this poem tells us all we can do is pray ...and be with them in spirit. This poem makes me cry - you wrote well Karen.

Cynthia

Thought provoking, sad lines to read this evening, Karen - well done.

(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.