"During the day..."

During the day, I resurrect the dead. I dash

across the classroom where my students

are slipping in and out of coma as they crash

against their desks. I work on their endurance.

I like to think it’s not in vain. There’s no mistake

and something’s cooking if their brains are fried…

I know that one fine morning they’ll awake

and see Pythagoras and Euclid in new light.

They’ll rise up from their seats, still half asleep,

with love of math and new-found thirst for knowledge.

If nothing else, perhaps, they’ll learn to keep

their checkbooks balanced as they sleep through college.