Gathering Dust

* It happened in a moment, during my 7th grade English class * As we studied classic literature; “Evangeline”, the poem A substitute teacher, wearing shoes of polished coal * His soft style, hair neatly combed, engrossed in reading poetry… Pubescence slumped around me, nodding off, slowly being lulled... Young minds. filled with clutter, gathering dust, from ancient stories With glittering eyes, he read each verse * * The soft, eager voice, that stroked each word… He would wait, on occasion, to look around the room * With wistful hope, I would suppose, to reach one heart, one soul At the start of the class, I had been watching the clock But, as I sat more enraptured, time just seemed to stop… I turned the pages, one by one …and slowly fell in love The beauty of old words, drifted through the stuffy air Like the gathering of dust motes, glittered, hanging in suspension Filtered in the angled light, of the afternoon’s warm detention Sun filtered through window glass,…while voice of bliss droned on…. My heartbeat sped, with growing passion I restrained my hands from reaching,… grabbing * To catch each word, and keep them captive… Dust motes, and words, were spinning around * I was head over heels…for my substitute teacher… I was head over heels for an old man named Longfellow…. Thirteen years old, I loved two older men…. Fell in love with the classics,....on a mid-day afternoon While gathering dust, and the magic of words ………………………………………. For the Contest: "Gathering Dust" Sponsored by John Lawless