“Write out of the overflow of your life.”
~ Brian Miller
Leaving
What was once called
My Ideal Job
Returning
To what I loved before
Six twenty-fives
Chasing paperless paper
The journey
The students
The river
Lives floating through
Carried by the tide
And then they are gone
Replaced by new
The overflow
The overflow
© Jilly’s 2016
Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of dVerse Poet’s Pub with a quadrille!
Jilly's 
Lovely poem! We need more teachers with your attitude.
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Thanks, Victoria! It helps to be crazy 🙂
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Well no shortage of that here 😉
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You have the patience of Job to be a teacher… and I would know, being one myself! I liked how you took advice from the interview and wove it into a beautiful paeon [A paean (pronounced PEE-in, sometimes spelled pean) is a fervent expression of joy or praise, often in song] to the teaching process. You truly do write from the overflow of your life, and you do it artfully, Jilly!
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Thank you! Is it patience or insanity?! 🙂
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You are a teacher. Howvery interesting! Excellent poem about it and your attitude towards it. Quite a journey to be sure.
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Thanks for reading!
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Reads like a tribute to your vocation! An excursion of life!
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Love what I do! Thanks for reading 🙂
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Oh yes.. I think being a teacher is something I would love to do as well… It’s so good to love it.
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You teach poetry by example, every day!
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Ah Jilly — the rewards of teaching — those students flowing through our lives. I just had coffee three mornings ago with a young woman who was once my 10th grade English student in Marengo, Iowa — and had the lead role in a high school play I directed….that was in 1972! And I’d not seen her since then. It was absolutely amazing to receive the call that she would be in Boston — and more amazing to reconnect after all these years and “catch up.” Teachers make a difference……..my guess is you are a fabulous one!
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What a story! I love those affirming moments. I was caught up in a bear hug at the grocery store this spring by a former student who said he was talking about me in his college English class – scary 🙂 LOL
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Yes,my step-dad was a teacher – he definitely had the patience of a saint!
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Wow, you are very lucky to have this kind of vocation and job that you love. I am married to one so I know a bit of the magic of that journey, the overflow, the overflow of so much love and hope for the students. Thanks for joining us!!!
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Teachers touch so many lives. I picture the river of students flowing out into the world.
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Thought-provoking imagery here:
Lives floating through
Carried by the tide
And then they are gone
Replaced by new
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I am a teacher as well although they refer to us as “educators” in early childhood. It is truly amazing to see those we have influenced years later. I could often predict their path by the interests they pursued at an early age. I love how you used Brian’s quote to spark your poem.
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The quote o Brian’s is a great additin to your words. Reading this makes me wish you were teaching my kids!
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Thanks!
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Oh, well saiid. And I can imagine how you must have loved and understood the interview with Brian.
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I kept that section of his words because I needed to read them many times over.
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I love that you started with a quote by Brian. His words have been swirling through my head too. I love this.
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Thanks, Rose!
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