I came to work one day and

I was excited about the piece I was going to teach.

I was getting in the flow when

In the middle of class

A student raised his hand

and asked, “Why we gotta learn about this?”

We were reading a piece by Dr. Martin Luther King

And the other students looked to me for my reply.

His attitude about the subject matter

Was trying to throw off my flow.

And I thought to myself 

It’s such a shame that good authors

Receive no respect this days.

I was tempted to brush him off and go on with the lesson

But instead I broke it down for him

Telling him things to spark his imagination 

All the while finding my flow once again

And went on with my lesson.

Taking pride that I was able to use this moment

To shape and influence a young mind.

 

Note: The italics is what I add to the original 10 lines and I put a line through the 8 lines I took out.