SCET Journal 2020

Reflecting on

Teaching

The First Day of Class

Bob Hanley

They drift into the room like summer rain Slow, tentative Then a thundering rush That stops, suddenly, as bodies Unceremoniously drop, guttered into stasis. A pregnant hush While names are called And faces, tiny clouds, mentally traced. Some gray and ominous, There, one specked with gold, A few tinged with the violet blue of storm. No warnings proffered, A momentary tingle before the jolt, When word and thought Split, conjoin and split again, atom-like: While lightning dances cloud to cloud and Now, unleashed, Blinds a thousand suns.

j Bob Hanley holds a Ph.D. in English Education from the University of Georgia. He has taught English at Anderson University for thirty-five years. He enjoys writing poetry, short stories, and songs. He and his lovely wife Nancy, also an educator, are blessed with six grandchildren who make life very interesting.

South Carolina English Teacher

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