Lerner, David Drew

English

Montclair State University Digital Commons

New Jersey English JournalVolume 5 New Jersey English Journal Article 122016An English Teacher’s LamentDavid Drew LernerSomerville High SchoolFollow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/nj-english-journalThis Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by Montclair State University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in New JerseyEnglish Journal by an authorized editor of Montclair State University Digital Commons. For more information, please contactdigitalcommons@montclair.edu.Recommended CitationLerner, David Drew (2016) "An English Teacher’s Lament," New Jersey English Journal: Vol. 5 , Article 12.Available at: https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/nj-english-journal/vol5/iss1/12  2:20 p.m.  by David Drew Lerner   The rows of desks are empty: No eager hands reach for attention ​–  No laughter, no shouts, no brags, no put-downs ​–  The exuberance of youth has fled to fields, friends, or quiet corners.   Now crumpled papers, discarded wrappers, And secret notes lamenting lost loves Litter the classroom floor.   Left behind, slumped at the large battered desk, The teacher stares at stacks of essays Demanding to be graded And gathers her strength for another day.     David Drew Lerner ​has taught high school English for 26 years; the first eight at Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn, New York, and the past 18 in Somerville, New Jersey, at Somerville High School, where he currently teaches AP Literature and Composition and a Creative Writing elective and was the advisor to the school's literary magazine, ​The Muse​. He especially loves Shakespeare, Poe, and Frost, and enjoys writing poetry both for his Creative Writing class and for his own pleasure​.                 New Jersey English Journal  ​ 58 1Lerner: An English Teacher’s LamentPublished by Montclair State University Digital Commons, 2016

An English Teacher’s Lament

https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1226&amp;context=nj-english-journal

An English Teacher’s Lament

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