Adrenaline was flooding high
As I faced the unruly four
Who had loudly bounced
And trounced about
Causing disruptions galore.

“We din’ do nothin’”,
“Why are you mad at us?”
“We Wuz just playin’”
“Why make such an awful fuss?”

I stood my ground,
Displayed the rules;
Pointed out the requirements
Of behavior at school.

My blood pressure boiled
For several hours more
After they had boarded the bus
And I exited the schoolhouse door.

But lying, unsleeping
In my quiet bed,
I thought over
All the things they said.

I thought about their art
(Which was really pretty good)
And how much fun they had horsing about
Despite what they “should”.

Then I thought Of my quiet ones,
Who needed others to be good
Who needed meditational quiet
To develop the best art they could.

I thought about my unruly ones
And what might await at home
Would I have done better
To leave well enough alone?

Or was I, as I thought
Defending my gentle ones?
Sleepless, I tossed and turned
Weary irresolution spinning in my head.

Then I offered up a prayer
For growing children all
And I wept into my pillow
Distraught by it all.

I wished for a magic crystal ball
To know if today I made the right judgement call.

Image by spratmackrel via Flickr