A Poem a Day for National Poetry Month

What Matters Most
a poem for those who teach
 
If you feel overwhelmed and lost,
with nothing up your sleeve,
before you ask, “What shall I do?”
ask, “What do I believe?”
 
And let your heart be guided by
these two repeated thoughts:
“I believe that I can teach
and students can be taught.”

Hello Dear Gentle Po-Folk,
 
April is National Poetry Month, so it seemed fitting to begin with a poem written in honor of the many teachers and librarians who I’ve been blessed and inspired by over the years. These post-covid months have found many of you releasing a lot of pent up grief and feeling PTSD, and all the while you are facing new challenges regarding the kinds of books you can and cannot share with your students. Many of you have related to me, how the same teachers who were praised as “heroes” during the pandemic and now being demonized as being morally suspect—and not to be trusted.
 
You cannot navigate a long road five feet at a time. I urge you to stay the course and keep your eyes trained on that sweet spot that stands like a beacon far down the road. That long view is what will keep you riding steady and between the lines.  
 
To celebrate NaPoMo, I have been posting a poem a day throughout April on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I’ll post the poems to my YouTube channel as well for those of you who cannot share the other social posting platforms in your classrooms.
 
My spring calendar is very full, with school visits in Texas, Virginia, New York, Tennessee, and North Carolina. And I’ll be heading back to Virginia in May, as well as visiting schools in the Charleston and Savannah, GA areas, so if you’re interested, drop me a line.