If I Don't, Who Will?

M. Fennell

9/8/01

If I don't teach these children, who will?

If I don't look to their future - who will?

If I don't listen to their troubles and fears - who will?


If I don't force them to take responsibility - who will?

If I don't love them, if I don't want the best for them - who will?


I once made good money, and enjoyed an enviable lifestyle,

yet I gave it all up.

Why?

Sometimes these kids drive me crazy,

and yet I choose to return the next year.

Why?

The truth is that I could no more dam up my love for these kids

than a sparrow could give up its desire for flight.

And That is Why

I am a Teacher

Note the date of this poem.

It was written just 3 days before the September 11 attack.

Ironically, I was teaching that day, and we saw it all - on live television - the instant it happened.

 

For those reasons I said that I am a teacher, was why I was teaching that day, available to help many students through it all.

 

No one has seen this poem until now. Because of the date of the attack, I did not share the poem with anyone, not even those closest to me. Only now is it available for viewing.