A Poem By Walt Whitman

𝐶𝒉𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑉𝘐𝘐: 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑜 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝛬𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎

-A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. -Mrs. Keating said, the next morning, to all of her students.-And don't use "very sad" use– Come on, Mrs. Overstreet, you twerp. -She pointed at Kim.-

-Uh...Morose?

-Exactly, morose. Now, language was developed for one endeavor, and that is? Mrs. Anderson, come on. Are you a man or an amoeba?

Taylor kept silent.

-Mrs. Perry?

-Uh...-She started to think. -To communicate.

-No. To woo men. -All the girls laughed. -Today we're gonna be talking about William Shakespeare.

-Oh, God. -Charlie complained, as all the others did the same.

-I know. -Mrs. Keating nodded. -A lot of you look forward to this about as much as you look forward to root canal work. We're gonna talk about Shakespeare as someone who writes something very interesting. Now, many of you have seen Shakespeare done very much like this: O, Titus, bring your friend hither.-She said, mimicking Shakespeare, in a nasal voice. -But if many of you have seen Mr. Marlon Brando. -She mimicked Brando now. -you know Shakespeare can be different. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. - All the girls laughed now. -You can also imagine John Wayne as Macbeth going: "Well, is this a dagger I see before me?"-Now she did John Wayne.

All the girls were now sitting on top of the tables, others on the chairs, and the extra ones on the floor, laughing out loud at Keating's imitations.

-"Dogs, sir?"- She started to read in her book, with a British accent. -"Oh, not just now". -They laughed all again. -"I do enjoy a good dog once in a while, sir. You can have yourself a three course meal from one dog."

Mrs. Keating stood up on the table.

-Why do I stand up here? Anybody?

-To feel taller. -Charlie answered.

-No. -Now, she had that bell that looked like the ones from the reception of a hotel, so she clicked on it and it made a sound. -Thank you for playing, Mrs. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way. -She looked at the classroom, she saw every corner, everything she hadn't seen before, she observed her students well. -You see, the world looks very different from up here. You don't believe me? Come see yourselves. Come on.

Charlie and Nicole were the first ones to stand up from their table and go to Keating's.

-Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. -She said, while her students went to the table. Nicole was already standing up on her chair. Charlie slapped on her shoulder.-Even though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try.

Mrs. Keating got off the table, let Nicole get on the table. She made way for Charlie to come up as well.

-Now, when you read, don't just consider what the author thinks. Consider what you think. -

Nicole had already surveyed the room, while Charlie was contemplating every corner, every table, every pencil, every wood on the floor.

-Girls. -Mrs. Keating said, while Nicole got off the table. -You must strive to find your own voice. -The students were going up and down, contemplating everything, going back to their seats. -Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. -Kim looked at her with happiness.-Thoreau said: "most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out. Don't just walk off the edge like lemmings, look around you. -