After 28 Years In The Classroom Poem by Charles Chaim Wax

took a Sabbatical to discover
what I wanted to do
with the rest of my life
well, that I knew—
photograph write
but to get cash for my efforts
had always eluded me
now with the time off
I thought I had a shot
at figuring out
the great conundrum
but days turned into weeks
no solution and now
exhausted midnight near
needed a bit of cheer
so left to rent A Wonderful Life
at Blockbuster Video.
Once inside I walked up and down the aisles
searching for that fabled tale
and passed a small, thin man
a couple of times
making notes on a tiny pad
after the fourth time I passed him
I noticed an American flag
sewn on the breast-pocket
of his sports jacket
navy blue shiny
more than two sizes too large for him
didn’t look at movies
but simply walked
making notes
hit me he was a Security guard
I made a quick turn
and came up behind him
too busy marking the pad
to notice me
saw lines on the tiny paper
then a line through a couple of lines
bunched up marks neatly placed in rows
the guy noted each time
he finished an aisle
with a line on the paper
probably worked eight hours
a lot of aisles
a lot of lines
the harsh flourescent
light
illuminating his valiant efforts
at deliverance
for me no pardon
the night
still without salvation.