Don’t kick a dead horse

Aspiring teacher, looking at the classroom with as much awe as if it were the stage

and like a would-be actor, I’ll elsewhere have to earn a wage

always an extra, never a star or even a supporting role

no matter how I strive, I just can’t reach my goal

I am not knowledgeable enough, they say

about the curriculum, bye the way

my five-year absence speaks volumes of my ignorance

and my writing by some gets a kick in the pants

my path has been chosen, not by God but the principals

who don’t appear to be interested in what I can do well

so instead of a teacher, I will a writer be

from now on I am just going to be me

and all the forces lying dormant since my moment of birth

come surging forward without a dearth

never mind the years that the forces remained fallow

like the tide, they come and fill in the shallows

the schools are quite happy to go it alone

and about that I’m no longer picking a bone

it seems I’m untouchable when it comes to teaching

so even though I love it, I’m going to stop reaching

that final call drove the nail in the coffin

of any last hopes I had, so I am feelin’ rotten

but as the popular saying goes, there’s a reason for everything

and maybe the next time I hear the telephone ring

it will be glad tidings instead of dire

somebody, somewhere will find me worthy of hire.

Janet Bellinger

c 2005