eokane@charm.UUCP (Evan Kane) (04/19/84)
The author is a part-time volunteer at the Summit (NJ) Day
Care Center. This poem is dedicated in appreciation to Ann Toney
and Ann Birmingham who are full-time teachers there.
Caregiver
So lowly held and poorly paid,
Below the garbage man and cleaning maid,
I am the caregiver,
Entrusted with your children.
I serve them well because I love
And know how much they need me.
I hold securely in my arms
The restless promise of America
And in bare rooms begin to shape
A nation's destiny.
I serve them well because I love
And know how much they need me.
Chest wracked with phlegm,throat sore and hoarse
From children's germs
And stories told
And oft-repeated discipline,
I serve them well because I love
And know how much they need me.
No high technology required
To make my daily plans,
My heart is surer than my head
To guide my patient hand.
I serve them well because I love
And know how much they need me.
They grow and learn and move beyond,
With aching heart I wave farewell,
And always others come along
To never quite replace them.
I serve them well because I love
And know how much they need me.
And my reward is only this,
To guide the endless fertile stream
And leave a subtle imprint there
To last a whole life through.
I serve them well because I love
And know how much they need me.
Evan Kane 4/15/84