THE LESSON He risked his life, Knowing our innocence. He put himself in danger, Because he knew his place. He protected us as best he could, And he taught us most that day. Two years of sitting before him in class, Yet we never really knew him. We stared out the window in boredom, Never respecting him truly. Complaining about homework every day, We never learned a lesson. Until he endangered his own life, And we looked out from behind our clouds. He guarded us with his body, As we bowed to him our inner breast. In pain he keeled before us, And the pools of our eyes rippled. For the first time we saw the person he was, Learning a lesson never forgotten. We bent above his closed casket, While his soul opened inside us. Many tears of sadness were shed that day, But ours were filled with hope. He gave way to his heart for us, And yet he taught us his strength. For learning the worst lesson of all, We also have learned the best. Written in 1999 about the many teachers that sacrificed their lives to guard their students in the Littleton, Colorado, school shooting tragedy; included in various school/camp compilations. Poetry