To That Guy Towards the Back of the Class, He'll Know Who I Mean

Yes you,
the one who’s noisy when
he’s here which isn’t so very often -
you’ll never believe it but
I know you better than you’ll ever know…

oh yes I do and
maybe I could tell you but
the one who I don’t know is
the you that stands in front of you,
that writes your name, and not much else, that sits in class,
that looks at me as if
we were born into two different tribes
sworn to enmity

sometime in your life
someone told you you were nuffin
maybe they didn’t say it, just assumed it
maybe they said it when they were feeling foul
maybe they even said it when saying
the very opposite but
the way they said it meant
they didn’t quite believe it themself because
they felt themself to be like that
know what I’m sayin?

yes I know you better than you know
I know it from that great great place,
that great great space
that’s the same in you and me
and maybe we’ll get a chance

to talk about this some time
maybe meet accidentally in MacD’s
you’ll be embarrassed by the intimacy of that
as if you’d been captured by the other tribe
and you have to bribe your way out but

maybe we’ll chat and I’ll try
to hint to you about that great great space
which somehow doesn’t get
into the classroom... targets etc

that’s if, I don’t change schools first
or give up teaching, it’s a near thing; maybe
we’ll both be glad of the chat, it
could be the start (but keep it quiet)
of something new for you
you’d better believe it; with your life;
(‘bettuh bleevit’)

so try to attend more often,
know what I’m sayin?

poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!