Written by James Monroe Sinclair
Jenny Lind School
Jenny Lind, California
Re-typed in all caps because that’s how the original was done
 
 
 
THE TEACHER MUSES 
 
YEAR AFTER YEAR THEY COME TO ME
THESE CHILDREN WITH QUESTIONING LOOKS.
YEAR AFTER YEAR THEY LEAVE ME
            AS THEY LEAVE THEIR GROWN-OUT BOOKS
AND I WONDER SOMETIMES IF I’VE TAUGHT THEM
            JUST SOME OF THE WORTH WHILE THINGS.
JUST SOME OF THE THINGS THEY’LL NEED IN LIFE
            BE THEY POETS OR PEASANTS OR KINGS.
 
OF COURSE, THEY’VE LEARNED CIVICS AND HISTORY
            AND HOW TO DIVIDE AND ADD.
BUT HAVE THEY LEARNED THAT THESE ARE NOT ALL
            THAT HELP MAKE LIFE SAD OR GLAD?
HAVE I TAUGHT THEM THE VALUE OF SMILING
            WHEN THINGS SEEM AT THEIR WORST?
HAVE I TAUGHT THEM THERE’S NOTHING THAT HELPS LIKE A SONG
            WHEN THE HEART SEEMS READY TO BURST?
 
HAVE I TAUGHT THEM THE JOY OF CLEAN LIVING
            THAT HONOR IS BETTER THAN FAME?
THAT FRIENDS ARE THE GREATEST OF TREASURES
            WEALTH LESS THAN AN UNSMIRCHED NAME?
HAVE I TAUGHT THEM RESPECT TO THE AGED
            PROTECTION TO THOSE WHO ARE WEAK?
THAT SILENCE ALWAYS IS GOLDEN
            WHEN GOSSIP BIDS THEM SPEAK?
 
HAVE I TAUGHT THEM THAT FEAR IS A COWARD?
            WHO IS BEATEN WHEN THEY SAY, “I CAN”?
THAT COURTESY RANKS WITH COURAGE
            IN THE HEART OF THE REAL GENTLEMAN?
HAVE I TAUGHT THEM THESE THINGS AND THE OTHERS
            THAT WILL HELP MAKE THEM BRAVE, KIND, AND TRUE?
IF I HAVE, THEN I CARE NOT IF THEY TELL ME
            THAT IRKUTSK IS A TOWN IN PERU.