%20(1).jpg) |
| source |
.jpg){kind=link}
The patience I gained
in school prepared me
for these tough times.
Now I wonder
what we planted
in the children we taught:
Kindness? Love? Joy?
Intelligence, for sure.
But did we plant
deeply enough to carry
them through lonely days,
and water lightly
enough so they have courage
through the dark night?
Soil matters most—
too sandy and water
is lost, too muddy,
seed loses its breath.
Were they sound ground?
Did they grow into trees
Tall with integrity?
Did they flower
both boldly and true?
For my prompt "Seeds" at What's Going On?
water lightly / enough so they have courage / through the dark night? - that is so profound...everywhere we see young people leading the way for justice or peace or climate...a lot of teachers have done right across generations.... teaching them kindness and love and joy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rajani. I love the idea of those seeds planted in the classroom growing into "trees tall with integrity." They are rising now and I am grateful for their energy, as mine fades.
ReplyDeleteIt seems a timely poem with Earth Day coming up. "Did we water enough so they have courage?" Will any of us have the courage to stand up for what we believe in these times?
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful. I do wonder as well if any of the seeds I planted grew in ways that even today help people go through these rough times. I hope that I, as other teachers, taught some lessons in that regard. And I think about my own ability to get through these difficult times. I am not sure that any lessons prepared me for this, sad to say. I do hope, however, that the 'trees' remain strong and keep hope alive and help freedom thrive.
ReplyDeleteOh dear today we are almost on the same wavelength, Susan in a slightly different way. The same tree within. I feel experience teaches us "patience".
ReplyDeleteYou brought back some lovely memories for me in your poem, Susan, of my time teaching. Thankfully, I’m still in touch with quite a few of my ex-students and can say that we did ‘plant deeply enough to carry them through lonely days’ and did ‘flower both boldly and true’.
ReplyDeleteThe answer is in the harvest, I expect.
ReplyDeleteLove this poem. Such wise and beautiful questions to ask, Things that matter in life
ReplyDeleteI really hope they did - a wonderful poem of sharing wisdom-- Jae
ReplyDeleteThis is beautifully writ. I suspect there are some that did!
ReplyDelete