Lessons in Humanity 1973-1998

Joan Michelson, UK

[ Editorial note: for more on the brilliant book this poem is taken from, Poetry as a foreign language, edited by Martin Bates, please click across the Student Voices in this issue.]

Teaching EFL I listen mostly.
This began the year we lost Allende.
My class was filled with refugees from Chile
The students had a lot of things to tell me.
The world they'd seen: a new democracy.
Teaching them, I learned to listen mostly.

Pinochet sent his henchmen for Allende.
Thousands disappeared: their democracy.
That class was packed with refugees from C hile.

They hid the worst. I helped with phrasing mostly,
style for official forms, linguistic niceties.
Teaching the Chilenos I listened mostly.

I learned: Victor Jara went down singing,
though his hands were broken by the junta.
I lived that year as if my home were Chile

and I expected Britain to protect me
until I had a home beyond Pinochet.
My class was filled with refugees from Chile.
Teaching EFL I listened mostly.

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