A Mademoiselle Bestia Poem by Patricia Etienne

Simply feels like yesterday
But it has been awhile now
I remember all vividly
How it felt
My heart battered so hard
Could literally hear every beat
Each morning I walked into her classroom
Sneaking onto the wall so scared
Hurried to my seat
With the hope she wouldn’t see me

Merely a third grader
An innocent by thoughts
gullible by acts
lived in a microcosm of my own world
Mathematic was not my cup of tea
But I did try hard
Really did!
Wouldn't
Couldn't
Leave the house without reciting the addition table

But, the facial expression
The lash on the bureau
The voice,
The atrocious voice!
When she called my name upon
Erased,
Deleted my memory!
Caught in this miserable situation.
The emotional distress was unbearable
That fear lived so deep and under.

The Mr. hide temperament.
Certainly was not a way to teach.
Spreading fear into little hearts.
That should never exist.
It was not worth the pain
My encounter with her.
Bad memory stays forever!