A Sweet Bird

Lined face and hands of leather Her body punished by blazing-hot weather She'd worked the fields for 50-plus years Her energy drained, along with the swamps ~For the kibbutz whose ideals she held so dear... Shopworn and spent in her shapeless frock Offered a menial job in a kitchen smock She volunteered to teach immigrants Hebrew instead The time had come to depend on her mind, she said... Her classroom had no board, just tables and chairs Nor was there a breath of fresh air in there The temperature outside nearly one-hundred ten Inside just two fans --Can you imagine? Yet she taught us to converse from the very first In just a month, we could handle most situations We could shop for clothes and order food too Buy tickets for a ride on the bus or in the train station She taught most of us to speak Hebrew fluently Her lessons with our objectives meshed congruently Her name was Tsiporah; it means 'a sweet bird' Her language teaching the sweetest music we'd ever heard October 06, 2019 Favorite Teacher or Professor Contest Sponsor: Chantelle Anne Cooke