Flunk

I am flunked
In the second
Grade by an irate
Mrs. Duckling because
I sneezed too near her and
She accused me of sneezing
On purpose introducing me to
My first taste of prejudice due to
Mrs. Duckling’s horror of little boys,
I confess I was a deplorably dirty
Specimen guilty of all the things
Little boys do that outrage the
Mrs. Ducklings of elementary
Education resulting in my
Teachers from then on
Seeing me as a boy
Who was capable
Of finishing HS
If I would only
Apply
Myself.
Though I later
Earned three post
Graduate degrees in
History and Planning,
Graduate School in my
Twenties and Fifties
Was enormous fun,
I was always an
Outsider who
Would not
Walk the
Stage to
Collect a
Diploma preferring
To have each degree
Mailed to me at my
Home knowing
How blind to
Potential
So many teachers
Were and determined
Not to let my own
Prejudices
Blind
Me
For the
Half century
I taught
College students,
None of whom
Who tried
Did I ever
Have to
Say
You flunk.