You tell yourself
To give him a chance,
Even though,
From the first day,
You see he’ll be
A problem.
He shouts,
Arrives late,
Picks fights.
And though you feel
Your patience breaking,
You tell yourself
He’s trying;
That he’ll turn it around.
He gets worse;
Like a branch’s breaking,
Your patience is rent:
You write him up for
Disrupting the class,
Verbally abusing students,
Cell phone use.
All of which,
Had you not been so
Goodhearted,
You would’ve done
Sooner.
Now you just can’t wait
T0 get him
Removed from class.
The day then comes
When you look at the roster
And don’t see
His name.
A new class?
Expelled?
You don’t care.
His desk is empty.
The other students
Don’t mention him,
But smile
More easily.
You try to figure it out,
Though
There’s nothing to:
A wasted effort
For all
Involved.
~ S.F. Wright
New Jersey, USA