This Is She (For My Tenth Grade Teacher)

My English teacher got married tonight. Weeks before the wedding, she asked me to give a speech about how she's like as a teacher so that the guests will know about that part of her life. I ended up reciting this spoken word poem as my speech.

Allow me to
Take you to
Another side of Linny where
Rustling papers and
Noisy staplers and
Grades and records are
Abundant in number and
Children speak and
Children listen.

This is she.
Calm and cool as water
Never breaking her dam
Despite our endless
Relentless questions and 
Talking sessions
She is patience.

This is she.
A world of second chances
And in our English classes
Forever with
Grace on her lips
Grace on her fingertips
Speaking out
Breathing in
Grace.
She is grace.

This is she.
Understanding and knowing
When you are struggling
She is there helping
Because she knows
She knows what it's like
The students' life
Sleepless nights
Bottomless cups of coffee and milk tea
Sometime between midnight and half past three
Trying to finish up essays and submit projects on time
She is kindness.

This is she.
A flowing, gushing fountain of
Ideas, ideas, and ideas
She comes in with magic in her pockets 
Sunshine in her hair
Excited to share 
A part of her life 
A part of her mind
With us
Wanting to unleash the
Artist in everyone she
Tries to squeeze out every ounce
Of imagination and creativity we have in us
She teaches us to think
To ask "Why?"
To question our surroundings
To be open to new things 
To find answers
To learn and to live
And be more
Than we think we are.
She is art
She is inspiration
She is patience 
She is grace
She is kindness
She is a blessing
She is 
Ms. Linny.
Yes.
This is she.