THE TEACHER’S RHYME

Teaching, for most graduates in Nigeria, is the most thankless job ever. There is no appreciation for molding kids into better members of the society. This has discouraged a lot of young men and women, including trained teachers, from venturing into that area of specialization. The joy of seeing a student achieve greatness can never be quantified though. It is this pleasure, that we can then consider to be true blessing for a teacher.

THE TEACHER’S RHYME

The rays pierced through dusty broken windows,

Striking across the table like a golden sword.

The dusty books raise golden motes into the air,

Turned all about by the dust shadowed ceiling fan.

The floor is clear but dusty;

The chairs broken but clean;

The heat stifling and airless;

The books old and cover-less.

It is a day at work;

Preparing to teach the unlearned.

Materials are scarce, the pay is crap.

The students are crass and some; scamps.

But I will teach them

Yes! Teach them

To spell and write; to speak and slide.

To compose poetry and hammer out prose.

To act the role in a story,

To take their place in history.

I will teach them

Yes! Teach them

To dance to unseen music,

Listen to the song of the earth,

Scream delight at the mundane

And crush the bone breaking cross

That rests heavily on the shoulders of this nation.

I will teach them.