ELEGY FOR TWO TEACHERS
James M. Truxell
January 28, 2011
Flu grounded me on the couch.
Luxurious chance to read the Post all way through . . .
Even the obits.
That's where I saw her name.
Cancer.
Ovarian.
A teacher only forty.
High school.
Photography.
Red hair.
My client.
Gave me leave to record
Some sessions.
Helped me get certified.
Launched.
Grief grounded me on the couch.
TV news might provide distraction.
Another shuttle launch.
That's when I saw them disappear.
Smoke trails.
Devil-horned.
Carrying a teacher.
High school.
History.
Brunette curls.
Our hope.
In classrooms, the children's
Noisy excitement
Turned to
Silence.
Grounded.
What then to say or do
When challenges overwhelm
And battles with the Enemy
Are lost?
Their final lesson,
Lived out by each
Before their students,
Gives their answer:
"Strive, reach, grow, give, struggle, hope:
You've only your life
To find."
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