I Wish My Students Knew: A Poem

I wish my students knew

How many hours I spend thinking about

What they do,

How they feel,

Who they are,

Who they’ll be.

I wish my students knew the things they say matter

In good ways,

In bad ways,

In every way.

I wish my students knew how important their education is

For their future,

For my future,

For our future.

I wish my students knew how vital they are

To the classroom,

To the school,

To the world.

I wish my students knew how much I truly care about them

Even when they’re annoyingly asking about their grades,

Even when they’re pestering me about anything at all to get class off topic,

Even when they’re viciously rude.

I wish my students knew that every second of disrespect is a chip in my armor.

I wish my students knew that, in spite of everything, I love each of them, even if I don’t show it — especially when I don’t show it.

I wish my students knew that even if a teacher seems to dislike you, that teacher still cares about you more than you may realize or maybe even deserve.

If they only knew…