Oh, Sir
Oh! Sir!
Great teachers changed the world for me,
I sometimes dreamed of teaching too!
"Yet, 'gift' to teach!" stays blasphemy
While 'taught' to teach still make kids blue!
The Peace Corps pushed some faults aside,
Grace opened doors to serve with pride,
New languages, to serve the earth,
Should 'expertise' constrain 'rebirth?'
Malaysia's Twelfth Form Physics Class
Surprised my heart at every turn.
Their drive to learn sparked jaded ass,
Who lived in fear the world might burn!
My syllabus would last two years,
No class taught twice (good cause for fears!)
Their futures blasted earthbound beams
As MIT rewarded dreams.
My term was up, a time to grieve,
To celebrate our common luck,
Hamburger plot hid up my sleeve,
A barbeque, more than ground chuck!
"Oh, Sir! So good!" through smiles and tears,
The cheese and mustard out their ears!
Mom's apple pie then topped it off!
"Oh, Sir! So sweet!" school's final doff!
Brian Johnston
May 7th of 2019
Poet's Notes:
Two young men merited full scholarships from our American
Peace Corps classes to MIT from the Sultan Abu Bakar of
Kuantan in East Malaysia's State of Pahang and a young woman
student who got a full scholarship to Radcliffe as well!
It was such a privilege to be able to both know and teach all
the young men and women I encountered during my two-year
Peace Corps tour of duty!
I want to thank everyone I met there, faculty, staff, and stu-
dents, and, of course, to especially thank John F. Kennedy,
a true mensch!
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