Teacher

I looked for your face
in its usual place
where it hung on
the school wall
and saw only bricks and some paint
where the nail used to be
a hole on the wall

And I understood
you're no longer a symbol
of life as its supposed to be
the balance of power
has passed to the hands
of the proud and wrinkle free.

I look for the reasons
for things I believe in
and one of those things is you.
It is hard to believe
that for all you've done
there remains no gratitude

I understand
that you have been banned
from the system you helped to construct
by the very ones who
you gave your attention to
reputations you built up

So you made
and gave the grades
then they threw you away.
Was that a fair trade???

a