What Do You Mean? Poem by Abrahaley Habte

"Quiet! " the Head Teacher shouted
And in a burst of inspiration
He let his ‘wise' words flow
As if they were rehearsed for long.

"I want to hear a pin drop, " he told a multitude of school children,
A sea of confused but attentive little kids.

"I would like to hear a leaf flutter to the ground
"I would like to hear a child's heartbeat, sleeping in his crib
"I would like to hear a frightened deer's heart beat in a forest
"I would like to hear a tiger stalking a helpless victim in a jungle
"I would like to hear a gentle breeze shake the trees' hands."
"What? " a question leapt out of the sea. "What do you mean?
"We didn't get it."
"Why can't you speak the language we understand? "