Globe with gold suspended in water
Writing time.
Expectancy painted on their faces.
They know something’s coming,
just not what, yet.
But something.
Ideas.
Their own.
In this moment
I’m just the crossing guard
from the unit
to the universe.
Ever expanding.
They do not know, yet,
that they’re made
of the same stuff as the stars.
That the stuff without
is always calling
to the stuff within.
They are children
but not too young to discover
they’re oceans
containing more than simply
water
and salt.
But I know
there’s millions of pounds of gold
infinitesimally dispersed
throughout the oceans.
Here is where
those priceless grains
rise to the surface
take shape
become substance.
Now is when they start spilling
onto the page
to shine
with a light of their own.
The whole of my task
is to stir
release
and be swept away.
lit bits and pieces 
I’m just the crossing guard! Love it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Fran this is packed with awe and pride at the writers that children naturally are! My favorite line – They are children
but not too young to discover
they’re oceans
They are oceans of ideas!
I agree our job is to “stir, release, and be swept away”. I so admire your well chosen words and well crafted slice! Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Dawn – I am so glad you enjoyed & that you agree! They ARE oceans of priceless ideas – capable of going so much further than we can even imagine. It’s one of the reasons I so love teaching (facilitating) writing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I could not agree with you more! Teaching writers and watching them discover their ideas is absolutely priceless!
LikeLiked by 1 person
These lines, this image: “I’m just the crossing guard/ from the unit/ to the universe.” Wow. That will remain with me. And the metaphor of the gold in the ocean. The whole poem is full of your absolute certainty of the value of each of your students. Beautiful. (Also, if you haven’t read it, I bet you would love the picture book You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Amanda! I based this post on an experience with young writers this week – actually told them they can get ideas from “anywhere in the whole universe.” The look on their faces as this sank in-!! The only limits are those we place on them (alarmingly). I am happy to know this resonated so with you. And, I haven’t read You Are Stardust! An immediate to-do! 🤩
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, yes, yes! I love this. To be swept away and I was!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I, too, like the crossing guard image, its proposed job description near the end proving dizzying.
LikeLiked by 1 person