(1) Two Ways to Look at an Exam
So eager they are, some of them,
to get their answers onto the test,
showing how little they have learned.
(2) In English Class
Is Shakespeare
really more important
than the little red-haired girl
in the front row
who chews her pencil?
Wandering, I seek
the companionship
of the stars, a sailor
a-watch at sea returning
home to a safe harbor.
I carried your mother,
and your grandmother, too,
off to sleep as I carry you now,
wandering round the living room
and into the kitchen and back,
your breath a soft voice in my ear,
your head pillowed against my shoulder.
I would love
to lie on the beach
with you, holding hands
and listening to the muted
conversation of the ocean,
ebbing away into eternity.
