Broken Poem (Fragment #16)

I knocked at the door.

“Come in!”

The professor was sitting on the window sill without his shoes. It looked a bit strange, but I had gotten used to his little quirks. Generally speaking, our entire magistral staff is a strange sort of panopticon—a freak show if you will—and so sitting barefoot on a window sill looks like kid’s stuff in comparison with the other teachers’ habits.

“What are you staring at? Give me your scribbles!”

I had gotten used to his bad manners too. With impassiveness I offered my worn down notebook to him. The professor opened it, read some lines and screwed up his face.

“What the crap?”

“It’s my homework.”

“Are you sure?”

“It seems so…”

“Quite so. It only seems like homework.”

He tossed the notebook against the wall. It bumped into a shelf of softbound texts, opened and came apart. Lines that I had written with diligence and care crumbled. Words and punctuation marks were scattered higgledy-piggledy in every corner like pieces of a shattered cup. I sniffled and bit my bottom lip.

“Gather up this trash. And don’t spoil such precious words with your glamorous bullshit.”

I stood and looked at his bare feet, at those claws clutching over the floor. They were long and crooked with an unpleasant yellow hue…

“Look sharp! I’m not going to hang around for another aeon!”

I started to gather my unhappy poem from the dirty floor. Resentment was slowly turning into fury. Plucked peacock! I will sort you! I will show you anti-glamour!

by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2017

64 thoughts on “Broken Poem (Fragment #16)”

  1. I felt your pain as well and I hope this is not a real prof, but literary license…symbolic of all the little indignities of college life. If there’s a prof like him, he’s no way a teacher. Not a teacher at all.

    Good work.

    Liked by 2 people

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  6. Panoptes, a giant with a hundred eyes
    Directions whence he viewed disguised
    Buildings built, schools, in his name
    His ability your magistrals falsely claim
    A rues to encourage students learning
    If it works perhaps, his/hers discerning
    But how you described that professor
    A man of his calibre should know better
    What err your grade, advice not disrespect
    What you, and all students should expect
    Hasta la vista
    This mistakenly got posted on yassy66’s blog, my apologies.

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. I enjoyed the comments ALMOST as much as I enjoyed the piece. I felt your pain and anger. Lord, let me never be that professor! I am not a Pollyana who tries to find “something good” in every piece my students write, nor do I give A’s for “trying,” but I usually can see some potential in writings and make suggestions for improving. However, when it’s REALLY GOOD (like this piece and many other things you have written) I am the student’s number one cheerleader. I have actually been known to write YAY! on a paper. LOL

    Liked by 1 person

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