Still He Teaches Poem by Susan Lacovara

To the naked eye

He is frail

Attached to the confines

Of a wheelchair

Without words

As mechanical air

Pumps through his pulse

Once a tall and standing figure

A teacher surrounded by children

Craving answers

Came the onset of disease

Striking hard his bones and breath

Deliberate in destroying his will

But he never wilted or withered away

Definitely dares to find a cure

At every curve in the road

Speech and sudden movement gone

Elapsed in time from the effects

Of what goes on trying to steal his strength

But never securing a hold on his soul

There is a purity to his purpose

And a reflective light that he casts

As he rolls past the parade of well wishes

In the sunlit streets and cloudy corridors

Of each and every day

Determined to cover ground

And find ground breaking hope

For those who suffer in silent fear

Of no longer voicing their dreams

Or standing at a daughter's wedding

Or believing a cure is near

What miraculous gift he gives

On display and onward rolling

To the beat of his incredible heart

The world watching his wheeling wish

His healing spirit

Still, he teaches

As each day he is put to the test

And comes across with flying colors

Of humility, promise and faith

Instructing us to be better ourselves

And join in the race for life