Write about something you dislike the most. Start each sentence off with I Didn’t Like.

— Ashley

 

I Didn’t Like

for Ashley

 

I didn’t like students crumpling pieces of paper with budding poems struggling on the line,

or students refusing to use both sides of the page – I could hear the rainforests crying!

I didn’t like Monday mornings any more than students did,

or that I was never able to get them to be as excited about Walt Whitman as I was.

I didn’t mind hearing: “I hate poetry” or “This is boring.” Those words were an invitation and a challenge for me.

I didn’t like students whispering in the back row or crinkling candy wrappers during poets’ visits.

I didn’t like pages with only a name and the date written on top;

only a ghost where a poem should be.

I didn’t like to see the shadows of past criticism and cruel judgment that revealed themselves when students said, “I can’t,” “I won’t” or “Mine’s no good.”

I didn’t like having to say goodbye.

 

— Tzivia