One Ripple

It's November. Fall. No shave November. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I have felt the desire to write lately. And as much as I would love to write a novel in the month of November and partake in the exciting challenge, I don't have that kind of time.

So I'm having a PerPoWriMo (Personal Poetry Writing Month). Writing a poem everyday is much more doable for my time allotments. I may not post one every day, but hopefully I will write one every day.

So, day one:

one ripple

i am only one person
with one heart
one mind
one soul
every morning i walk
two blocks
ride the train for
two stops
and ride the bus for
twenty times two minutes
then walk
two divided by one blocks
to a school falling apart
literally and metaphorically
i use my two hands to
pass out countless papers
i use my two eyes to
see countless faces
walking through the halls
i use my two feet to
wander through desks
filled with students who
don't want to be there and
will tell you all about it
not just with words but
body language
eye rolls frowns folded arms
slouched postures judging eyes
i teach the same lesson five times
i teach the same lesson to
one hundred and sixty students
i answer the same question
two dozen multipled by two times
my voice fades among the
two dozen plus two plus two plus two
voices that keep talking
my two ears hear
rumblings of fights and
escapades going on in the building
my two eyes see the pain and
frustration when things get hard
but my two hands can't do anything
because as much as i want to be more
i am just one person
with one heart
one mind
one soul that longs to make the
smallest ripple
hoping that ring grows
beyond what i can do

Until next time.