the english teacher

at first it appears to be a bird,
a swallow, or sparrow,
a small dove
with frenetic wings,
caught inside your house,
searching for a way out.
but it's darker than that,
you can see the spiked
thin canvas wings,
of a blackened bat.
hardly the weight of a mouse,
it crouches in
the folds of the hemmed
curtains, hiding, biding
time, perhaps. thinking
its way through this trap
he's flown into.
with all the doors
and windows open,
you find the long broom
and tease him violently
out into the air, into
the light. you will later,
think of this and connect
your days, and what you
do for a living, teaching,
as not so undifferent.