The Defiance Of Chalk Dust Poem by John Sensele

You do not dare to shed a tear
Any more, white chalk
Expended on the chalkboard to wear
Thin as detractors in whispering tones talk

Peering left and right, they backbite
Complacent guffaws on their face
They whisper words to bite
Briquettes of etiquette they deface

Smug satisfaction punctuate the mood
Coursing through the conversation
Calibrated to the serrate thenimble neighbourhood
Where chalk expires expressing neither vexation

Nor satisfaction as chalk dust falls
On the floor to the delight of the understanding pupils acquire
When the writing on wintry walls
Spells boom for Mr Chips and Mrs Clicks who retire

Having taught thousands and thousands in their lifetime
Engineers, buccaneers, mutineers and balladeers
Who over the years have wiped away the slime
Chalk dust repelled with zeal as tears

Rolled down faces that mourned for chalk dust
Classrooms, hostel bedrooms took for granted
Until chalk dust fed up with the scarcity of trust
Opted to quit having ranted


Frustrated words to express disgust
At the turn of events they witnessed
When gangsters pricked daggers into the bust
Chalk dust kissed

As goodbye they said
Wishing chalk dust well
Farewell in tributes they paid
Although in truth no goodwill their mouthings could tell

But chalk dust sent their epitaph to Hell
On a one way ticket
Which dangled on a brutal bell
Sounding the death knell on a pesky picket

Chalk dust nodded
For the last time before closing her eyes
Common sense having shredded
Insensitivity and scarcity of creativity in the ludicrous lies

Chalk dust heard
As the coffin slid six feet downwards
Mocking their beard
Warning them lies can't fly upwards.