Jason, Austin And Stephanie Poem by Jim Yerman

It's been 10 years since I retired from teaching…
but…every now and then…happily…some of those old memories soar…
This week awakened by a letter…a photo…
and a chance meeting at a grocery store.

The letter was from Jason…an old student…
in his letters…for me he always prays…
We've been writing back-and-forth for years.
His letter arrived today.

The photo was of Stephanie…
Her beautiful memories I shall always prize…
Stephanie was non-verbal…she did her talking with her eyes.

The chance meeting was with Austin's dad…
I hadn't seen him or Austin in a while…
and when we said our goodbyes
In my mind I kept seeing Austin's smile.

I remember my teaching days with fondness
It was hard work…but it was fun.
By the way…Austin is no 32, Stephanie's 45…and Jason is 51.

Still my memories of them are fresh…as fresh as the day they were made
and I hope I'm blessed throughout my life that their memories never fade.

I hope I'll always remember those moments we shared
as what they were…a beautiful synchronicity
How…while I was busy teaching them…they were just as busy teaching me.

Yes, I hope…in the short time we were together
they learned as much from me…
As I learned when I was teaching
Jason,
Austin
and Stephanie.