Every time he enters class, he grabs his book off the table,
even on Fridays when we don’t normally read.
(For him, I may defy that wretched Friday system)

We read for fifteen minutes every time.
Four out of five heads tilt down in books.
(One or two sleepers have bodies and minds that defy.)

Today, afterward, I circulate to check their logs,
And proximity feels somehow good and comforting.
(This may be the effects of Covid quarantine,

because normally I’d rather always stay six feet away
and have no more than ten students in my class.)
But smiles, eye contact, interaction with these gentle ones here.

#Gratiku #Thankspoem