In third grade
at Stone School in
Miss Driscoll’s class
in Massachusetts,
we had daily practice
Reading Circles —
arranged by levels
of abilities in
word recognition,
cadence, and clarity
of pronunciation.

(1950’s old school)

I was top reader
in the best group
but one Tuesday
I stumbled — and
was humbled —
as I came upon
a word I’d never,
ever seen before.
I stared and stared.
Thought I should
know it, but still
couldn’t figure out

(for the life of me)

how to say the word
— or how it sounded
— or what it meant.
Utterly embarrassed
and befuddled by my
own unusual pause,
it dawned on me —
in that silent moment:
this must be how
other kids feel when
they look at a page,
see little black marks

(all jumbled together)

each one intended to
have meaning. HAVE!
That was the word
that tripped me up,
stumped my mind
for some unknown
reason that lone day.
A simple, common,
often-used word —
no long sounding a.
So, have a moment
of simple presence.

(Ave, ave — have!)

. . . . .

Susan Powers Bourne
Tiferet 2018 | Seven