Not Only a Dream

I see them before me

Eyes glued to me;

Waiting.

Waiting for me to tell them

All that they need to know.

I just want to make them what I know they can be

Not just what the state says that they should be.

This won't just change my life

It will change theirs.

I will be better for having made them smarter,

Better prepared for the lives that lie ahead of them.

This is what I was meant to do.

I was meant to change lives

If I change my own that's simply a consolation prize.

I was meant to teach them what they need

If I make her proud that's just frosting.

I was meant to show them how to survive in a world of big words and high standards

If I learn more myself that's nothing more than a subtle surprise--

Something not in the lesson plan.

I will change their lives

And maybe my own.

This isn't a dream

It's my reality

I am doing it now;

It's already begun.

It's not just what I've dreamed of for the past five years

This is my life now

And it couldn't be better than this.