Old Poetry Old Poetry Poetry • Poets • Essays • Forums •

To A Teacher Retiring

A LIFE of teaching ; now you must
retire. And there is heartache mixed
with your desire for well-earned idleness.
For you will miss the warmth of shining
eyes, and voices lilting in a glad surprise,
and some child's shy caress. The giving
of yourself—life's joy of joys. And every
year has brought you girls and boys,
flowers for your cherishing. It hurts to
think your usefulness is o'er, that you
will guide their little hands no more, nor
teach them how to sing. Vicarious
motherhood has been so sweet, marking
the trail for wayward little feet, and
watching small souls grow ! Fret not!
For ever like a magnet you will be,
drawing small children by your sym-
pathy, until the sun sinks low. A life
of teaching! Foolish, sad-of-heart, to
think the chapter ends. It doth but
start, inspired by what you wrought.
Your children's children will hold high
the light, and keep the shield of truth
for ever bright, through lessons you have
taught.

Notes

Taken from "Mingled Yarn" by Wilhelmina Stitch (Methuen 1943)

The pieces were each presented as a single block of fully justified text. One title per page.
The reader was expected to UN-mingle her lines.

Leave a guest comment (subject to review)

    : Comment:

    Name: (required)
    Email: (required, hidden from spam)

Comments

  • judyjudyjudy
    July 3

    Edit | Reply
    Bittersweet, a pleasant reflection on a teacher's life It's very idealistic but I would like to read more of Stitch's work. I am not familiar with it and her books sounds interesting.

  • oneluckygirl
    July 3

    Edit | Reply

    reactions

    Also, as a retired teacher, I find a certain distance between then and now, for I never felt myself a vicarious mother. Though I have my own romanticized takes on my career, it is interesting to see how different Ms. Stitch's reflection is.

    I was relieved to see the note regarding line breaks for I was asking myself throughout the reading "why break there? It feels clumsy"

  • camus
    July 3
    Edit | Reply
    As a retired teacher, I was able to empathize with this poem and all its emotive aspects. I really enjoyed reading its warmth and genuine appreciation of the worth of a teacher both during her active role in school and in the aftermath of her school life where her influence lives on.