PARENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

I dreamt I stood in a studio

and watched two sculptors there.

The clay they used was a young child’s mind,

and they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher; the tools used

were books, music and art.

One was a parent, who worked with a guiding hand

and a gentle, loving heart.

Day after day, the teacher toiled

with a touch that was deft and sure.

While the parent labored by their side

and polished and smoothed it o’er.

And when at last their task was done,

they were proud of what they had wrought.

For the things they had molded into the child

could neither be sold nor bought.

And each agreed they would have failed

if each had worked alone.

For behind the teacher stood the school,

and behind the parent, the home.

It’s a School Night!

                             T’was the night before school started