The bell goes. Play time, shout
the third graders with glee,
try to rush out of the classroom.
Yolanda stops them, makes
them stand in line,
one behind the other,
“keep a decent distance between
each other, with fingers on the lips
go one after another,”
she instructs. A military discipline,
in their walk confers a charm. The next
moment play ground bustles with activity,
She permits no physical touch,
not that she knew of Covid ,
she fears infighting,
Yolanda, a kind teacher,
just out from college, is scared
of children hitting each other,
she loves each one so dear,
allows them to play,
what they wish,
one is swinging high and low, the other
comes down on the slide, two others
go up and down in a sea saw.
The young girl turned teacher
sings sweetly as she plays
“ring a ring a roses” with
‘the timidest of all.
Meenas Poems 