My first two weeks teaching Spanish to nurses

went wildly; I pranced around the room,

acted out the words as in a one-woman show,

which the class was, absolutely,

a show for all times…

I drew charts, gave exquisite

political examples,

told tawdry jokes, flew

into paroxysms of bilingual laughter,

which can be variously written

as ha ja ha ja ha ja ha.

For the administration,

I constructed such a syllabus

the angels who attend

to the immortality of syllabi

wept for joy.

¡Qué maravilla!

I added links, music, poems,

recipes, small bits

of el alma de la profesora.

I was called

on the carpet.

Gently.

“We love

your wonderful energy!

We bless your love

for our students!

But could you (piano, pianissimo…)

please curb your enthusiasm?