| Where Are The Children? Where are the children I used to teach Their minds keen and eager to learn, Anxious to please and filled with respect And eager for merits to earn? Where are the faces that lit up so much From a curious, warm inner fire? Has growing older made me lose touch So that I no longer inspire? Who do they see when I visit their schools? I no longer feel I belong They speak while I’m speaking;challenge the rules What am I doing that’s wrong? I loved the children who sat ‘round my chair For lessons or stories we chose The children who waved their arms in the air To answer the questions I posed Some of them sneer at my weathered brow As if I could not have known youth Believing today lasts forever somehow Oh, if they just knew the truth That one day they’ll open their eyes and see That youth, once it’s gone can’t be bought And, hopefully, they will not ache just like me Asking “Where are the children I taught?” |
| Creating A Role Creating a role is like painting a portrait That lives inside of you The easel has no boundaries To limit what you can do You paint with tools uniquely yours And as you hone each one The skills that you amass increase The scope of what you’ve done You learn how best to listen Not to simply hear what’s said You learn not to let idleness Reside inside your head That thinking is an active task Which warrants concentration And every ounce of thought is powered By your imagination That doing makes the mind believe And from this feelings spring Unforced and natural, born of purpose Which powers everything It starts before the lights go up Before the camera sees Understanding, empathy, Mind-power, all of these The journey from a writer’s pen Thoughts on printed page Suddenly are breathed anew And played out on life’s stage And you become the human vessel That gives the tale its soul When you sincerely give of yourself When you create a role |