This is not poetry to tell you how wonderful you have been
How you have been a guide, and a light unto my feet
This is not a poem to tell you about how well you have nurtured me
Or how invested you have been in my well-being.
This is not a poem to tell the world, that without you and your efforts
And that without you and your sacrifices
And that without you and your tears of love and affection
I would not be standing on this podium today
This is not a poem about hope
The one you instilled in me, in preparation for when the going gets tough
This is not a poem about your love for me either
That love that lets you shelter me in the rain and away from the hard-hitting rays of the sun
This really is not a poem about your desire to see me live a life better than yours
To see me blossom into a flower that provides beauty to itself and its environment
This is not a poem about service
The ones you rendered even above your pay grade without fuss
Dear Teacher
This is a poem about calling on the world to do right by you
To recognize the beautiful place you occupy in our lives and that of our children
Beyond long talk, a plethora of unfulfilled promises and documented cases of neglect
Indeed, we should do better.
This is a poem about your living and working conditions.
About how the one who teaches lawyers has no one to defend her rights
About how the one who lectures engineers, can’t get a decent housing
About the one who lectures cooks and chefs can’t get a decent meal..
This is tough….and our thoughts and prayers are with you.
But thoughts and prayers won’t buy a jar of milk
It won’t buy some good shoes and fabric of silk
So…to the head teacher
The substitute teacher
The teachers who taught us to till the soil
To the ones that do it as a hobby
To the teachers that tell us about God and his love
To the ones that tell us about the workings of the universe
To the teachers who play the roles of parents to orphaned children
To the teachers risking it all in areas of conflict
To the teachers who have been burnt
And to the ones still aflame
We say to you…thank you..
We say thank you.
From the bottom of our hearts, we say thank you.
And we call on the world to do right by you.
Happy World Teachers Day.