Small Town English Teacher (2020)
Jessie Lovett Allen
In your town, former students
sling your drinks, snap your x-rays, and report your news on TV.
You hold their secrets because
you remember their essays.
One returns from combat, homecoming party at the airport, and
you know he only joined up because
his mom was ashamed of him.
You remember the essay.
One dies from an opioid OD and
you know about the man who groped her at work
and how she told his wife.
You remember the essay.
One smiles and wins an award and
you know her drunk dad pushed
her mom into a wall.
You remember the essay.
One closes her eyes halfway in the mugshot and
you know she worked in assisted living and
once brushed a dying woman's hair.
You remember the essay.