Night Class in German
The first line of each 5-7-5 stanza is taken from “Teaching English from an Old Composition Book” by Gary Soto.
Stand at the blackboard,
charting a vision with chalk
for ravenous minds.
The class is alive,
a violet rebozo
draping one student.
To prepositions
ravenous minds give short shrift—
gallop to the verbs!
Two students applaud
as I slather the blackboard
with verb upon verb.
Monday night the verbs
are vacuous, not vibrant—
damn those declensions!
Composition book—
scribble sassy paragraphs
after you get home.
They head for the door—
only the single mother
has mastered knicken.
Smarter by one word,
this vivacious young woman
will translate Rilke.
The Guatemalan,
manipulative tonight,
refuses to learn.
© 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 126
Posted on September 15, 2013, in Counted verse, The Sunday Whirl and tagged counted verse. Bookmark the permalink. 19 Comments.
Magical Mystical Teacher 
Thank you for giving me a delicious peek into a classroom. Teachers – the real, albeit, unsung heroes of this world, deserve so much more than society chooses to give. Oh… one more thing…your verbs…. and nouns… and vocabulary…gallop through your poem!
Thank you, Wabi. Your kind comment is galloping deliciously through my heart…
The teacher sees..I love that sense of knowing what will become after the exercise books are frayed and forgotten..and all you need is inside..
This is a great progression!
LOVE this, especially:
“gallop to the verbs!”
The ones that get smarter by one word often make up for the ones that refuse to learn.
Oh, I enjoyed your fun poem. It made me smile. Great job!
Interesting how you summed up each student in a short haiku.
Two students applaud
as I slather the blackboard
with verb upon verb. ~ love the image
fun! ~ thanks
What an amazing and fun story came out of this.
This is a wonderful glimpse into a creative classroom. You paint a vivid scene with your words. Night Class in German sounds fun.
Love the creative classroom!
Galloping after verbs is so poetic. I love your haiku today. Sorry I haven’t visited in a while. I’ve missed you.
Loved sitting here in class and soaking in the sights and sounds – Wonderful
What a delightful scene you have created in this adult(?) learning class. It set me wondering about the root of set me wondering about the root of so many English words such as knicked and knackered.
You helped me relive my own experience of teaching adults. Those classes were always alive, filled with questions, answers, laughter, and a real love of learning. Thank you,
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/an-old-old-story/
Ha! Quite a composition!
Interesting peek into your class.
i would love to be in this classroom!!
I love the two students applauding.