They stood at the door to my class this morning
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed like usual
But many paused with a fairy wish,
Happy Valentine’s Day. The treasures tumbled
In too; a jar of tulips, a chocolate rose in pink foil,
Two chocolate strawberries, a pastel painted heart
Note, cookies to share at snack time, and valentines,
More cookies iced pink and sprinkled, gummy worms,
Kit Kats, and later there were rainbow heart pencils, sheets of
Scratch and sniff heart stickers. Notebooks for the boys
That read, I chews you. Ah, tousle-headed, freckle-faced,
shiny-finy children—you’re more than I ever asked for.
Living in the Now 