I will not teach anymore
and I won’t imagine teaching,
won’t package up my
thoughts and observations,
won’t make lessons

I have recognized the danger
of such practices —
more than my lack of leverage,
more than the difficulty
of moving things from the periphery,
is my lack of knowledge
of another’s center,
and the fact that I can’t diagnose
someone else’s lack

“They shall teach no more every man his neighbor
and every man his brother saying ‘know the Lord’
for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,
saith the Lord”

“Thy children shall be taught of God
and great shall be their peace”

I will not try to teach —
Instead, I’ll listen,
I’ll strive to learn,
on each occasion,
what the infinite has already imparted
to each thirsting soul,
each waiting heart.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 21, 2015