You sit there and mouth off
(Why do I have to deal with this?)
And I tell you
Calmly
To move to the back of the room
Quietly
But you mouth off again
(As if your purpose in life is to antagonize me)
And flip me the bird
And, self-controlled as always
(This gets old after a while)
I send you to the office
You smirking
Clowning to your friends
As if you’ve proven a point
As if you’ve beaten me
But next year I’ll still be here
(And the next and the next and the next)
Working with (or should I say against?)
Students just like you
(And trying to teach on the side)
Collecting my paycheck
And in a few years
(Can I hope it will be that soon?)
You’ll realize
The point you thought you’d made
The victory you thought you’d won
Was hollow
Or
At the very least
You’ll be gone.