A Sweet-Smell Memory of School

Seven years old
chalk in my right hand
a key ring full of stinky old keys in my other hand
whistle on yarn ready for blowing

My miniature chalkboard
propped against my headboard
leaving sufficient sitting space
for my dolls to learn in rows

Encyclopedia “M” open to the page on mammals
that week’s spelling list in perfect manuscript on chart paper
addition equations on flash cards in pungent blue marker
all prepped and ready for “class” to begin

Some days I dressed up in Mommy’s orange blazer
with a paisley scarf around my neck
red lipstick and pink nail polish
“Good morning, class. My name is Miss Johnson.”

15 years later, I wore my First Day of School clothes,
had two classroom keys that smelled like power
and a new box of colored chalk
releasing the aroma of possibility

Stacey Joy is a National Board Certified Teacher who has taught for 38 years in Los Angeles. Stacey is a self-published poet and has poems published in various anthologies: Out of Anonymity, Savant Poetry Anthologies, Teacher Poets Writing to Bridge the Distance, and Rhythm and Rhyme: Poems for Student Athletes.