I hear the calling. . .
“how much longer will you teach?”
I keep hearing,
folks wonder when I’ll retire,
I normally answer with a mumble
about still feeling called,
though I point at body and mind
and acknowledge that the decision might be made for me
when I lose the wherewithal to see the kids,
to see paths I can help them find,
in the film version of The Lord of the Rings
the elf princess Arwen sees the child
who can be born to her
if she chooses to stay in Middle Earth,
the child runs in the woods
and, through misty ether, sees her,
their eyes meet,
and he calls to her to be there
so that he can be there,
a child she doesn’t yet know,
for now, I am pulled by such children
I don’t even yet know,
teaching is a calling,
and, for now,
I heed those future students calling me.
by Henry H. Walker
June 4, ‘17
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