Teacher's Morning Prayer

We pray that our vocal cords

Don’t burst

After long periods of shouting, howling, reprimanding

We pray that our sanity remains

Safe and dry

While deep recesses of our conscience

edge to madness every waking hour

We pray that our lungs and rib-cages

Don’t get blocked by chalk dust

We inhale in this dusty business

We do this for these

Buds

Ready to blossom to beautiful flowers

And if in the end a coin

Will smoothen our sore vocal cords or

Caress our dead-beat minds or

Water down our chalk-filled lungs

We pray that you plaster a smile on

These agonized faces, contorted in face of miseries

For thou art a teacher to us, O lord

Amen.

C) Lorot Salem 2010