Without a doubt the teacher I remember most of all
was given like a present in 5th grade.
The man was smart, creative, wise, and I can still recall
some ways and means his teaching plan displayed:

Like dictionary racing for a word
that Mr B pronounced, to get there first;
or quizzes on the morning news we’d heard,
but never noting who performed the worst;
us reading Thursday poetry, or just
reciting lines to every present ear
(and letting that class joke arise, to trust
if nothing else the ride of Paul Revere);
narrating history while we did art;
and pointing out that, while a record ran,
we all were focused on the spinning part
(for such a sight-reliant creature’s man).

The maestro was a mage. I even met his family,
including me in outings to the zoo.
Of teachers either bland or threatened/envious with me,
he really was the best of all too few.