Tests

She never let them see her fingers tremble,
didn't allow the pain to ruin a single smile,
aging mentor passing out her latest test
to students whose eyes flared
with "I can't" doubts.

Bottle of prescription pain killers,
always kept hidden in purse,
for use on recess and lunch
when arthritis burned her joints the most.

But long ago at the feet
of the teacher she loved so much,
did she learn the iron that was melted
into her heart,
how to fight against a withering dream,
not surrender to fear nor failure,
served in the subtle challenge of tests
given with love and patient,
until anxiety becomes the steel of confidence
through the kiln of one exam after another,
before panicked minds learned
to not hide from risk
by the urges of slow and steady nudges.

Passion for taking frail spirits
and turning them into marathon lives,
enough reason to keep her battling against the suffering,
when others would have gone on disability,
that one more person could face tomorrow,
inspired to not quit chasing finish lines.