February 17th, 2014

The world began early; I am alive again. I walked to the college through much snow and ice and it was everything you would imagine of re-creation - and who wouldn't want this, a clean day and new roads through snow? There were paths forged in ice and it was as if You were saying "you see, others have walked this way. You are not alone" and so I rejoiced in the slide of boot print I stepped into and the drops if melting snow falling on me from the highway overpass. I said again, loudly in my head, "who wouldn't want this!" And nearly skipped at the glory of it all. I was one minute late for class  and rushed in breathless and laughing and the students, gathered and waiting, smiled with forgiveness.  I spoke with passion about semicolons and punctuation, how a simple mark on a page can carry the intonation we lose in the written word. There were furrowed brows and note-taking, and once again I felt overwhelmed by the position. How humbling to be listened to. How profound to have your words written down in a student's notebook. It was a small bird trembling in my hand, the responsibility of this, and also it was the weight of an entire building resting on my back as I strained to keep it from crushing us all. I closed the class with a poem and after, my student from Chile, gave me the names of two Chilean poets. How life gives back! How endless and weighty the jewels that adorn my soul!