What Was That You Said
Now and again, here and there,
in a classroom some student
refuses to give an expected answer,
and utters words not spoken before
in such a setting -- and the roof lifts
and windows open, and a wind
sweeps through cleaning out the dust,
the inertia, the boredom, the mindless
repetition which infects such environments.
And the teacher, stunned at first, bursts
into laughter and delighted dance,
and the students take over the lesson
and someone actually learns something
unexpected and worth wrapping up
and taking home for further contemplation.
La Paz, Bolivia, December 2008