Wednesday, June 25, 2014

A CARING GIFT

(Photobucket)



Her diary needed no lock.
It concealed no secrets,
told no lies.

Some days she took the time
to scribble the same words
she'd written a few days past,

"Boring day. Teacher called on me.
So embarrassing. Watched TV."

(Her parents watched too
trying to avoid
seeing her passive stare,
like the low beam of car lights,
streaming through her eyes towards nothing.)

But truths were invisibly encoded
in blank pages
she yearned to fill.

Luckily, one teacher was gifted
enough to decode the empty spaces,
to prompt and seek
until words took form,
giving the diary life.


(Submitted to Poetry Pantry.)


15 comments:

  1. Thank goodness for those gifted teachers, Myrna. We do have to take time to appreciate those people who gave us the opportunity to speak.

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  2. I really enjoyed your poem, Myrna! I like how the teacher was able to see something other people had failed to see and then encourage the girl to write and grow.

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  3. Yes, thank heavens for those teachers who can see and encourage a spark in a student - they truly make all the difference.

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  4. good on that teacher for recognizing and stepping in to offer guidance....i am glad there are people like out there looking and noticing...so many kids need it...

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  5. You are lucky to have that teacher who inspired you to write about empty spaces and giving your diary life ~ I agree, it can make a difference ~

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  6. Ah! the encoding! and the decoding! Very important to check before we label emptiness. Fine poem!

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  7. that's why true teachers are seers and diaries the ever faithful companions...i love how the words took form and gave the diary a life...beautifully penned...

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  8. I felt emotional reading this...I'm so pleased that teacher was there....that there are people like that. Life can be lonely and isolating with out them. Love to you dearest.

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  9. An empty stare is very telling...i am glad that teacher came along and the pegs started being filled

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  10. It's a case, when a child's diary signals the problem. So the teacher then appear...~ Well written.

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  11. We don need such people like that of the teacher who understands our emotions and makes our silence speak... lovely lines.. :-)

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  12. May God bless that kind teacher. Beautifully written!! ...Writing in a diary can be very therapeutic!

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  13. An inspirational teacher is a rarity. You were lucky!

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  14. Hey that's me too. My journal that I have now is always about the same stuff: work, online class, and either listening to music or reading a book. But unlike you, I just continue writing almost the repetitive stuff not wanting to leave a day empty.

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