I have seen too many

I have seen too many runny noses, papers that need grading, lesson plan formats, unfinished assignments, unwashed dishes, unfolded piles of clothes, half empty bottles of cough syrup, and scribbled hall passes, and unread books

I have been witness to too many off-task behaviors, furtive cell phone users dialing under desks, gross bathrooms with no paper towels, kids smoking at the bus stop, nit-picky fights between edgy boys, ringing phones on crowded stuffy buses, overheard too many lame conversations and too much self-inflating talk

I have seen too many leaves on the sidewalk, piles of papers, sullen faces in public places, too many tired teens, with their quizzical looks, too many powerlines, cloudy days and rainy nights