Ultimate Valentine Card Exchange

My other blog is hosting a Valentine Exchange and Giveaway that I am super excited about. It may seem like cheating that I'm doing two entries, but don't worry, I won't let myself win. :)

Please join in on the Valentine Exchange by CLICKING HERE!

A Poem

In my teaching ethical diversity class we have been reading Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students by Kathleen Cushman. I have been absolutely loving this book (even though I'm no longer planning on teaching high school) and will be doing an official book review on this blog at a later date.

Also in my class, after we finish a book (we read another one that I will also do a review for (I'm behind on this blog)) we are to create an "artifact", something that we got out of the book. It could be an art project, a piece of writing, whatever. For Fires in the Bathroom I wrote a poem and I would like to share it with you.

This book is partially written by high school students, saying what it is they want out of a teacher. For my "artifact", I wrote a poem about what I might have said to my teachers, had I been a co-author of this book. This poem is very personal, and focuses on how I was suffering through depression very heavily during high school.

So here is my untitled poem:

I am your student

A name on the roster, a body in the chair.

I am sometimes invisible to those in the class,

I am sometimes invisible to you.

I don’t always understand what you say,

Sometimes the words just don’t make sense.

It doesn’t help with the pounding in my head,

The constant ache in my chest.

I’m hurting inside, but you don’t see that,

You don’t even try to look.

You’re doing your job, you think you are,

You’re teaching and you think that’s good.

You don’t know that I don’t sleep at night.

You don’t know I’m hurting inside.

You don’t understand why I’m so shy,

You think it’s because I’m dumb.

I’m quiet, I know, but I wish you would hear

The words that I’m longing to say.

I wish I could trust you to listen to me

When I tell you why I am this way.

I am your student.

A name on the roster, a body in the chair.

Would you even notice if one day I wasn’t there?