Jusjess Poetry

What makes a teacher great?

11 years old, that kid was wild

But that kid had talent.

That kid was told something that she’d never forget:

You are an amazing writer.

I never told Mrs. Thore what was happening at home on Academy Street.

I just hopped on my Pokémon skateboard quite often

I just watched Disney movies

I just wrote and fantasized.

When she led me to

Stone Soup Children’s Magazine submissions

I felt something ignite inside my soul

And I got to writing my best story.

To be honest that damn story about roaches got rejected. I felt like sh*t but what I carried with me from that day on

Well, keep reading I’m sure you’ll get it…

Dr. Zehr of Salem College

Saw a teen mom who had ambition.

But she didn’t

See me as a teen mom.

Stumbling and stammering

And missed opportunities to be consistent

Led me to run off to the Navy

But guess what Dr. Zehr did?

She gathered my writing portfolio

And shipped it to me in Japan.

Man.

What makes a teacher great?

It’s hard to find the words

But wait –

Cuz I’m 35 and I still can’t stop writing.

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