By John Yohe
all of us
in fifth grade
boys + girls
loved Miss Rotinski
the art teacher
who came to our class
every friday
for an hour
tall
old
maybe thirty
jeans or slacks
but always a silk
longsleeved shirt
almost seethru
shoulderlength brown hair
low voice
keeping us under control
focused
one day
she showed us perspective
that our eyes
went to the horizon
anything taller than us
should be drawn on our paper
above the horizon line
which seemed a miracle
since I couldnt draw
so I drew wild monsters
weird pine trees and cacti
experimenting with that line
knowing I would impress her
show her how creative I was
show her I understood her
so she would
like me
towards the end of class
I walked up front
handed my drawing to her
she looked at it + frowned
—oh no
what have you done?
what is this?
I didnt understand
I had done what she wanted
enjoyed the process
was proud of my creativity
I took my drawing back
sat at my desk
have no more memories
of her
after that
Born in Puerto Rico, John Yohe has worked as a wildland firefighter, wilderness ranger and fire lookout. Best of the Net nominee x2. Notable Essay List for Best American Essays 2021, 2022 and 2023. @thejohnyohe www.johnyohe.weebly.com.
