my absence from school

 

while the cat’s away

while I was sick, I knew the steps forward for my classes,

and I hoped they didn’t need me as shepherd

to help them stay true to the path,

giving in to lesser impulses can be so beguiling,

the computer screen can so easily be like a siren call,

most held to the line, not all,

I held to the line of working as hard as I could 

to refind the functional within me,

when I finally was in striking distance

 of being able to know myself and others,

I make it back in to school,

my sixth graders mostly fine, just needing attention to detail,

my 7th graders work mostly excellent 

though too many of the mice did play 

while the cat was away, 

my eighth graders all dutiful, 

and steadily moving as to history,

what I push for with them

is less anxiousness about how others see them.

by Henry H. Walker

February 2, ‘23