Dawn Reader

Dawn Reader
from Open Door Coffee Co.; Hudson, OH; Oct. 26, 2016

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Spoon River Middle School: 41

NOTE: Somehow, this got out of sequence--probably while we were in Stratford.  This is #41, though I've already posted #s 42-45.  So it goes in dotage ...




Danny Idle 


Free Writing

Lazy?
You think I’m lazy?
You must think it,
because
you sure said it
today,
out loud,
while you were walking
up
and
down
between the rows of desks.

You stopped at mine,
where I was working
on this poem.

(Okay, so working
may be much too strong a
word
for what I was doing.
Or wasn’t doing.)


But anyway,
you tapped me on the shoulder
(I hadn’t seen you there
but should have known it
when I heard the silence
around me)
and you spoke my name
(a real attention‑getter):
“Danny?” you said.
Freezing me.

Slowly I thawed.

And twisted round
and turned my head to you.

(I didn’t say a
word.
I  hope you noticed that.
Not a word.
I showed no disrespect.
No defiance.
No disregard.
No defensiveness—
None of those D‑Words
that teachers hate,
words that, if shown,
will earn you another one:
detention.)

And then you spoke  it,
loud enough that everybody heard,
underlining every single word:          
“Danny, are you just plain lazy?”

Again … not a
word
from me.

I just bent my head,
picked up my pen,
and started writing this.
Not because I’m suddenly
not lazy.
But just because
it lets me ask you this:

Why is it
That when I do what I
want to do,
I’m lazy?

And when I do what you
want me to do,
I’m not?

Go on and answer that one.
And if you don’t,
well then,
you are just plain lazy.


No comments:

Post a Comment