Learning Burn
They carried a burning to learn and to educate.
They carried inadequate health insurance.
They carried the assumption their health insurance was adequate.
They carried exorbitant medical bills
For surgeries
Or pregnancies
Or emergencies
Or urgencies
Or totally irrelevant hypochondriac non-emergencies.
They carried new shoes and a new haircut.
They carried a library card
And an overdue fee for
Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”.
They paid the fee gleefully
For “The Things They Carried” was worthy
Of reading and rereading.
They carried a burning to learn and to educate.
It came at a price,
The burning,
The learning,
The educating,
The carrying . . .
It came at a price,
And that price was . . .
. . . the things teachers carry . . .
2012.3.29
Inspired by:
“The Things Teachers Carried”:
http://jeremiah138.edublogs.org/2012/03/26/the-things-teachers-carry/
