What Have We Learned?
2026 - Desdamona

Every year, I guide students
Hoping to inspire and encourage
Every day, an opportunity to create
Together we navigate
Poetic device and form
I try to soothe their fears
I invite them to find the deeper meaning
In even the most mundane things


On my last day, there’s been a change
Almost always
There is a lightness present
That is difficult to capture in words.

After I say my goodbyes and leave
I am asked to reflect
What were the take-aways?
What could I do better?
What did we learn through the process?

It feels like a test
I want to write a poem to answer each question
I want to say that
Learning doesn’t happen in one instant
It doesn’t immediately absorb and translate into knowing

The mind and body process at different rates
Sometimes the body knows first
Other times, the mind is the first to know
Sometimes the mind will trick you into thinking
You don’t really know
When you do

Then there’s the heart …
processing beat by beat,
each contraction,
Like morse code

What did we learn?

Is there learning without engaging in the next step
Of putting the learning to use?
Did we learn anything if we did nothing with it?

How long does it take to learn?

At 53, I’ve noticed that is has taken me years to actually learn and know something

In poems, the unspoken raises it’s arms to the sun
Begging to be chosen, like children who have something to say
Like the people marching in the streets, arms stretched
Holding words on signs and chanting

If I asked you, what have we learned? What would you say?