On any given school day,
my students arrive with
the first rays of sun.

Bleary-eyed and sleep starved
but open to the day,
these teens shuffle
to lockers.

The day may start with math,
science,
world geography,
notes on a piano
or words in an essay.
Regardless of the class,
promise still shimmers
at the edges.

By the last class,
brains arrived stuffed
egos a bit bruised
but
my students
still arrive
with kind smiles
and willing hearts.
They amaze me.