Poetry

I have always been a “C” student. My biggest problem seems to be that I must fully understand a subject before I grasp the concept. My understanding seems to take longer than the average student. No matter how hard I study, I can only grasp a small part until I have all the pieces. The parts I grasp are enough to give me a “C”.

When I was a senior in high school, my English teacher, Mrs. K., was very challenging, even to the best students. In the poetry section, we learned about many different styles of poetry. My favorite style was the iambic pentameter. This was not because I liked the rhythm, but because I thought it had a “neat” name. Looking up the definition for this article, I realized I had no idea what it sounds like.

For our poetry final, we had to write poems in different styles and illustrate them. My artistic ability is nil, so I settled for making red, yellow and orange flames to illustrate a poem titled “Fire”. I taped gum wrappers to the page of a poem titled “Chewing Gum”. Because my typing skills leave much to be desired, I wrote a poem to that effect. I capitalized entire words, typed with both red and black ink, left too long or too short spaces and even erased a hole in the paper. Instead of starting my project with a “Table of Contents,” my first page was this poem. I received “B-” instead of my usual “C”.

After graduating from college four years later, I started work as a substituted teacher at several local high schools. Apparently, I was doing a good job because, often, I would be asked by teachers from disciplines outside my field to cover for them when they had planned absences. They would contact me in advance and go over their lessons so the students would have consistency.

One day the English teacher, Mrs. Z., approached me. Expecting the usual request, I was surprised when she said, “I have an apology to make to you.” Noting my confused look she continued, “You were in my senior English class at another school, but I was Mrs. K. then, not Mrs. Z” (Because I rarely recognize people anyway, it is even surprising I remembered the class.) “I kept one of your poems from the poetry assignment. When I opened the folder and saw that awful page, I almost had a heart attack,” she said. “I have used it as an example for my classes ever since.”

As I look back, I realize her definition of “illustration” may have meant “description of each style” and not “artwork”. Oh well, a “B” is passing and better than my usual “C”.