The End of a Chapter
The final bell had sounded. Happy kids
fled halls and classrooms, out those double doors.
I heard brief conversations: “Call me soon” . . .
“Hey, let’s go swimming” . . . “Catch ya later, Dude!”
They’d soon return to school, but not to me.
I graded final tests and posted grades
just as I had for decades, but then came
lunchtime with colleagues and unique good-byes,
from some I’d seldom see, some not at all—
for I would never pass that way again.
I filled my car with boxes that contained
a plethora of teaching aids, a mass
of memories of a career—of my
identity since I was twenty-two.
Then, through my tears, I took one long last look,
and made my way toward my other home.
Copyright © Janice Canerdy | Year Posted 2025
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