A light that always stays

They stood beside the forgotten doors, While dreams slipped in on creaking floors A thousand names they came to know Then watched them bloom and go They shaped the minds too young to see, The roots growing beneath the tree Their voices firm yet laced with care, They bore the weight only few would share, While we soar high with borrowed wings, They stitch their skies with broken strings, They gave their all then some more, And watched each soul in silence soar, Their nights were long and dreams few, Future of others were the work they drew, The days were long and thanks few, Their hopes were stitched in all they'd do, While others slept, they were awake, For every step their student take, They wore their weariness with grace, A quiet sadness on their face, A chalk white path and dim lit room, Where tired hearts in silence bloom, Sometimes ignored, others misunderstood, Their lessons lost in youthful mood, Their unseen sacrifices bled, Into each word and tear they shed, They taught through pain and bitter days, And gave without expecting a single praise, They'd smile when none would ever see, The pain they bore invisibly Then the thief of time would turn its page, The faces grown with turning age,