Colorful badges
And dirty hands,
Blank notebooks
Tickled by
Emptying pens,
Transfer from
One generation
To the next
Across an ocean,
Cold and vast.
Raising voices
With orchestral
Arcs and adagios,
Tempo changes
How eyes dart
From one
Set of hieroglyphs
To the next
As well as
How they escape
Sun-blistered lips.
Benches and tables,
Varying degrees
Of what is short,
Construction noise
In the back–
The winter comes
Quicker than
One would think
In the summer
When river’s high
And horses graze–
No distraction
Adds to the
Organized chaos.
They run in
Just as quickly
As they run out,
Back into the wild
To breathe again
Dust-filled breaths
And play upon
Rocky hills and
Old buried tires
To decide who
The next Khan
Shall be,
Saying hello
In new tongues.
Composed 07/26/2012
Author’s Note: For Pre-Service Training, TEFL volunteers in Mongolia must teach English classes to community members. These usually end up being children. The ages range from 4 to 18. It can be quite overwhelming, but their spirit and positivity can be uplifting. You know, when they’re not distracted by the heat and potential boredom.
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