toward wholeness

person to person, eye to eye

the Universe has a center,

but, for me, it changes with my attention,

today we get back to school as person-to-person,

though with masks that block the mouth and nose

from expressing themselves,

nevertheless, the eyes are there, today, before me,

I come into a classroom,

and I can see the wonders before me

with more clarity than the Zoom world

can easily release,

each extraordinary person has been there

for the last month and a half of school,

being true to self

and to expressing who they are,

as best they could,

on the screen, in their shared words

in discussion and on assignments,

yet also having that mammalian furtiveness

that saved our ancestors when predators had to be avoided,

I come into the room,

I look into their eyes,

and I am undone with the power each lives,

despite the self-doubt that obscures the clarity each deserves,

I look into the eye,

and I see the center of the Universe

that deserves to be seen, appreciated, known,

eye-to-eye, despite how much the mask

can block the rest of the face from speaking,

I escape the prison of my own doubts and loneliness

to see the other,

 to feel the self burgeoning with power and hope,

and I know why I still teach:

every student centers the Universe for me,

and, more importantly, for themselves,

first is to center one’s self,

then to reach out to find and appreciate the other centers,

building friendships and community, 

all in the grand goal to reach toward wholeness.

by Henry H. Walker

October 9, ‘20