Stumbling

Sweeping the door open

Amidst the bustle of students

Your cheery "class is over" face

I catch

Memories accompany that face

In the previous quarter, it visited me often

Tormented me slowly

The endless chapters of text

and long lectures that never correlated

Provided me with a cheery

"class is over" face too

An experience I'll avoid returning to

if at all possible

But as I met with you today

In that hallway again

as I rushed on my way

I saw you sweep through your door

and I didn't calculate the damage that ensued

I hate to use the cliche of "slow motion"

but truly, it's my only description

The thud of your body

overran my music

and the entire hallway froze in astonishment

Such a high authority

had fallen

Your scholary papers

extended your stretch

and pushed the drastic situation further

Still, everything was still

Then you slowly rolled over

offered a smile, and called for a helping hand

You were fine, probably only slight bruising

would leave any evidence

but I was left with guilt

as I walked past the scene

Stared at you and your papers

Yet, I did nothing

I didn't stop to help, to comfort

Anything

Even now, as the hallway is cleared

I have an annoying voice

Calling me to turn back

Let go of resentment

To love.

Author's Note

I've been stuck on writing shorter poetry for a while now, so this longer one was a surprise. I'm thinking of experiementing with writing from the teacher's point of view. Let me know what you guys think!