Beginnings...

A new year

We smile and extend our good intentions,
we, the seemingly gentle giants of the cinder block halls,
leading lines of tiny people
with our sideways glances
that hush escaping giggles.
They are our charges this year,
to shape and mold into what we think they should be,
something we think we can imagine...
we, the all knowing beings with our tomes of knowledge,
we, with big, grown up teeth,
we, the bearers of standards and grade books;
yet there behind us,
they grow instantly, breathing
unfamiliar air--
craving foods we've never tasted.
We lead the unknown, desperately hoping
our tools will cultivate
a civilized crop...
Yet our senses are paralyzed by
a future we rarely
glimpse.