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.