Voice Of A Teacher Poem by Aminath Neena

I taught my students metaphors last week
A group of teenage girls,
Thirteen and fourteen
Giving some examples I went on
Some from Shakespeare,
And some from other sources
We watched a movie “My fair lady”, together
As enrichment later
Then I took them further
To the library to do some referencing
On parts of speech, for a project work
Finally, I asked them to write, as an end activity,
Some gold nuggets of their own, yesterday
And as I marked their pieces last night
I was in awe of their creativity
And one particular piece, mixed with love
Imprinted in my memory
And I remembered her asking me, innocently
“Miss, May I write about you”, and I did agree
Thereby, here I quote her words, exactly
“You are as kind as a fairy from heaven
Your lovely face, as beautiful as the sunset
On a tropical island and I am inspired
By your smile, a fresh spray of lilies
You are as sweet as the apple pie
That mum makes on my birthday
And I feel so at ease with you miss
Your voice, sound so clear as the waves
Moving on the beach, at night
Your hair reminds me of coconut palm leaves
Those that sway to and fro
And most of all, I love your smell
It lingers after you leave us, every day….”
These sweet words brought tears
To my eyes, and lifted my spirits
As I know that, children unlike adults
Are mirrors to one’s soul
And if you, are reading this, Nabaha,
I want you to know that your words
Are the best present I have received in ages
And it had etched its mark deep inside
Every fiber of my being, today
Thank you dear students,
I love you all…