Reading Aloud in Class

Reading aloud in class

I almost forgot where I am at

And I almost forget

That my student's only half understand me

And I almost forget the numerous interruptions

By rude people who open the door at any time

I almost forget where we are

Reading aloud in class

My students become like children

I do not know if they like to be read to

Or if they even really listen

But they do not complain

As they sit there silently, obediently

Like they do every day

Reading aloud in class

I almost forget the smells of dampness and urine

The broken windows and cold drafts

I almost forget the hard wooden bench

Or how tired my feet are of standing all day long

Reading aloud in class, I am carried to another place

A world of the author's and our imagination

Shared together

And one by one, in turn

I call on students to read aloud

And one by one

In broken, soft, unsteady English

My students read aloud to the class and to me

And so it was, within a year, that we forged a mysterious bond

A collective secret of where and how we could escape

Into other worlds

No one complained

No one seemed to mind

And the shared secret lingers

Long after the books have been closed