Doug Zimmer
school was pretty much senseless
for someone like you
who was so much a part of the world
already by the age of 13 or 14
as a member of a farming family
you were knee-deep in life
learning about cropping and coupling
everyday
doing work that really mattered
everyday
the same certainly can’t be said
for the assignments in my classroom
I’m sure, for instance,
that writing practice paragraphs
stimulated you no end
what would life be like, after all,
without knowing how to write
pointless little bits of prose
for a time
you and one of your town friends
ate your lunch in my classroom
and shared stories about home life
I became TEACHER only when
the language became too real
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Doug,
you were who you were,
a young man with a beat-that attitude
born of work and responsibility
I may have had 10 years
on you by the calendar
but in terms of life experiences
you were more than my equal