Scribble Me Words

Image Credit: TheFamousPeople.com Jorge Luis borges- Another Latin American Literary Giant.  You Learn After a while you learn the subtle difference Between holding a hand and chaining a soul, And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning And company doesn’t mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts And presents aren’t promises, And you begin to accept your defeats With your head up and your eyes open With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child, And you learn to build all your roads on today Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn… That even sunshine burns if you get too much. So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul, Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure… That you really are strong And you really do have worth… And you learn and learn… With every good-bye you learn.

I was doing a little research on Latin American poets for English class and was amazed to find out that many of them were Nobel prize winners! Indeed, Latin America has a rich literary heritage.  Image Credit: Britannica Gabriela Mistral, (April 7, 1889- January 1957 )  a Chilean poet-diplomat , educator and feminist. She was the first Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945. Sharing this poem of hers, which I found meaningful, especially in the present covid times, when not only we students, but the teachers as well, are facing tough times.  The Teacher's Prayer Lord, you who taught, forgive me that I teach; forgive me that I bear the name of teacher, the name you bore on earth. Grant me such devoted love for my school that not even beauty's flame will detract from my faithful tenderness. Master, make my fervor longlasting and my disillusion brief. Uproot from me this impure desire for justice that still troubles me, the petty protest that ri...