The Penitence Of Working In A Grade School Poem by Caren Krutsinger

Yak Yak Yak
Saying less than nothing
Gibber Gibber Gibber
No one hears for we have shut off our ears

Yammer Yammer Yammer
We try to eat in silence
To no avail.
She needs attention, not realizing she is annoying

A brave soul attempts to interrupt
She is new
Not understanding the way this will go
Crow woman glares at her, and talks more loudly

No one else looks up
We learned long ago
Crow woman's constant banter is her companion
If we try to eat in our rooms, alone, she follows us

The penitence we pay
For working in a grade school
Where most of us only talk to children four hours at a time
Yak Yak Yak I cannot wait to get home to my silence.