I’m a teacher
I’m proud of who I am
I pride myself on being honest
with every young mind
I’m blessed to share a year with

I talk about my family
in all its dazzling dysfunction
if I think it might help a ten year old realise
Life is good, life is bad
Life is everything in between

I talk about being bad
Making mistakes
My Achilles' heel
The way to heal
And how I’ve still got wounds that need healing

But like yesteryear
when I was young in 1984
I’m still hiding who I am in 2022
when it comes to sharing who I love
who I live with, who I kiss, who I live for

Shame on someone
But is that someone me?

Mark Bird ©2022