To Touch a Child

The octogenarian
Had been
A sixth grade
Schoolteacher
For close to
Fifty years.
Her goal in teaching
Had always been
To touch each child,
And to awaken
In them the spirit
Of who and what
They could become.
An inordinate number
Of her students
Had gone on
To make a name
For themselves,
To become
Prominently successful
In the local community
And beyond.
There were doctors,
Lawyers, priests
And politicians,
Business men
And women,
Writers and even
A few college professors
Who attributed
Much of their accomplishments
To her early inspiration.
The road to wisdom
Starts with a few
Good teachers
Quietly changing the world.