class preparation

the airvents on the rooftops a minute ago
were full of dark menace guerrillas about to attack
but now they are pipes and the gathering light
has driven back the shadows that gave them
a momentary substance

i look out of the classroom window
it is early morning outside there are doubtless birds
making their usual noises and dropping their bombs
on those unwary enough to pass beneath
the roosting trees

this is another workday another celebration of continuing
life and business the empty chairs soon to be filled
by half-waking students the same lesson i taught last
semester will be repeated and the same questions asked
but the answers may differ