the snake in the garden

hard choices, the tougher paths

I am worried about the snake in the garden,

our students are good people

who want to do right,

yet distance learning makes the paths forward

even harder to find and follow,

there in their rooms

Zoom holds their tenuous connection

to teacher,

to fellow students,

to their choices:

whether to focus their attention, or not,

to bring up a point in discussion, or not,

to resist the smart phone’s messages and games, or not,

to have their video on, or retreat from being seen,

the snake whispers to them,

and it is hard for them to resist the easier paths

that pull at them to give in to temptation,

life is all about choice,

the better way can be hard,

despite what the snake whispers

their future is so much better

when they choose the harder way forward,

despite how taxing it can be,

despite what they have to give up,

they and we are being tested,

and I can not succeed unless they do.

by Henry H. Walker

January 24, ‘21