Pedagogy

He was the one who explained the Greeks.

Now he’s standing in line at the pharmacy.

The light is too bright and his shirt is a mess.

He’s holding a burrito and a bottle of pills.

He looks like a man drowning in bills

and minor, nagging aches.

He didn't see me behind the display.

I watched him pay and shuffle away,

smaller than the man who used to stand

with a world of logic in his hand.

Just a person with bad knees

waiting for the rain to stop.