Someone wise once said
that a teacher affects eternity,
as they don't know where their influence ends...
but what is it that
influences a teacher?
perhaps it is a friend
back in Sydney
who
reminds another friend
that they have spent
half of their life
spreading joy
& teaching others...?
or perhaps it is
being presented with
a tiny towel
with a ribbon tied around it
in a bow,
at a train station
at the end of the universe...?
no,
I think it was the next morning...
I think it was
upon seeing
a collection of letters
written by children,
to their beloved teacher;
when discovering she was leaving.
At the very bottom of
one of the letters,
I noticed
the ink in the words
was running, smeared,
stained by a teardrop.
And at that very moment
I feel tears run down my own face.
I am filled with delight
that my newest, dearest friend
has reminded me:
I have
the BEST
damn job
in the entire
world
UNIVERSE!!
-For Corinne :)
(c) Brent M Harpur, 2011.
"If adults are happy, they give children a reason to want to grow up." (Dr. Patch Adams)
When love comes to call
at 4am,
will you be ready?
Or will you say
"No! I don't love you..."
& then in the next sentence
admit that
you don't even know
what love is.
I do not know either,
but I think that I love you.
Yes, I do not know what love is...
But here are some things that it is not,
either:
Love is not
a flashflood,
a tsunami,
or an earthquake
topplin' your cathedral...
Love is not
a nuclear reactor's core
melting down,
or radioactive dirty water
pouring into the Pacific.
Love is not
an out of control forest blaze
or a failing corneal graft.
Maybe
it is a gentle,
silent murmur.
Or a quiet collision
of starry opposites;
of gung-ho & hold back,
conservative & romantic,
iceberg & titanic.
Maybe it is someone
gently touching your face
while you become one
with each other's skin.
Maybe it is someone
choosing not to run away
when the other admits
that they want a baby.
Maybe it is finding strength
in being vulnerable,
kissing like you invented it,
choosing a super-power
of freezing time
over breathing underwater...
Perhaps
love is the space
between man and woman
that does not really exist.
And perhaps
it is just the
discarding of difference
& diversity
and cultural wall building,
common sense,
baggage,
bullshit & bodyparts.
And being able to
freely admit to one another
that you are
truly one of the same heart.
I used to suffer from such
a terrible disability.
Since meeting you,
I am no longer shy.
Thank you for giving me
back my courage.
I will say it again, as it deserves repeating:
"THANK YOU for giving me
back my courage!!"
I still
do not
know what love is,
but I'm a little more ready for it now...
...should it come calling
at 4am in the morning.
(c) Brent M Harpur, 2011.
"I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections & the truth of the Imagination." (John Keats)
