surrounded by the sounds
of incarcerated men
seeking education
and personal betterment –
each day at seven I arrive
place my idiosyncrasies on my desk
and begin aiding students
in the quest for either a GED
or a college degree
as Oregon is one of a very few states
actually trying to rehabilitate these men –
for my part, there is a fair amount of free time
between testing
and the copious amount of research
needed to get 43 students
in two separate facilities
all the scholarly resources they need
to collect that ever elusive “A” –
it is this space in my day
that is a gift from the universe
as I have the freedom to write
and write
and write –