I recently embarked on a new career direction. I am still an educator, but I have moved to an online platform. One of the challenges I faced teaching in a traditional classroom was my low tolerance for the extreme noise level. Luckily, teaching online allows me to do what I love without having to hear the mind-numbing din. The poem below reflects upon that maddening period of my life working in a traditional brick and mortar school.
Noise
Susie Krivacic
Pencil starts tapping:
Tap,
tap,
tap.
Pages turning:
Swish,
swish,
swish.
Gum snapping:
Snap,
snap,
snap.
Knuckles cracking:
Crack,
crack,
crack.
Foot tapping:
Tap,
tap,
tap.
Sniffle,
sneeze,
snort,
and cough.
Sniffle,
sneeze,
snort,
and cough.
Clear the throat;
Rub the nose.
Clear the throat;
Rub the nose.
Computer keys:
Tap, tap, tap,
tap, tap, tap,
tap, tap, tap.
Printer buzzes:
Buzz,
buzz,
buzz.
Voices whisper:
Louder,
louder,
and louder still.
Laughing,
chuckling,
talking,
and conversing.
Up out of a seat,
a figure runs into a desk.
“Ouch!” Tim bellows.
“I need a band-aid,” he whimpers.
“Patty said a bad word!” Mary hollers.
“No, I didn’t,” Patty retorts.
“You both said a bad word,” Sarah interjects.
“Stupid’s not a bad word,” Joe clarifies.
Maddie bumps her head.
Johnathan skins his knee.
They beg for the clinic passes
to get ice to soothe a bump.
“You’d better stop running!”
“You’d better stop calling me names!”
“You’d better stop grabbing my arm!”
“You’d better stop looking at me!”
“Teacher!”
“Teacher!”
“Teacher!”
“Teacher!”
Inside my head, my mind screams,
“SHUT UP!!!!!”
Instead, I clap my hands in a rhythm to gain the focus of the students.
They respond by echoing my clap.
All is quiet for a moment.
Pencil starts tapping…
Stay groovy…
–Susie
Copyright Susie Krivacic 2018
Harmonious Groove 