If (for teachers)

If you can wake up before dawn each morn
And often work 'til after dark
If you can deal with constant aggravation
And resist the urge to bite and bark

If you can eat a five course meal
In less than a quarter hour
And silence thirty yelling voices
With nothing more than a menacing glower

If you can make out the smallest handwriting
And decipher the messiest chicken tracks
If you can survive for days on end
Consuming nothing but sugary sodas and snacks

If you can grade a mountain of papers
Or on a bad day, maybe two or three
If you can face a room filled with hostile adolescents
And resist the awful urge to flee

If you can maintain your temper
When most others would have blown their tops
If you can return home each evening
And not drown yourself in hops

If you can take the constant striving
For monetary goals forever out of reach
And not feel overly despondent
Then, perhaps, you are fit to teach

©2008-Art Belliveau