Did I Miss Anything? by Tom Wayman

Did I Miss Anything?

by Tom Wayman

(published in Poetry 180, edited by Billy Collins, 2003, Random House)

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here

we sat with our hands folded on our desks

in silence, for the full two hours

   Everything. I gave an exam worth

   40 percent of the grade for this term

   and assigned some reading due today

   on which I’m about to hand out a quiz

   worth 50 percent

Nothing. None of the content of this course

has value or meaning

Take as many days off as you like:

any activities we undertake as a class

I assure you will not matter either to you or me

and are without purpose

   Everything. A few minutes after we began last time

   a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel

   or other heavenly being appeared

   and revealed to us what each woman or man must do

   to attain divine wisdom in this life and

   the hereafter

   This is the last time the class will meet

   before we disperse to bring the good news to all people on earth.

Nothing. When you are not present

how could something significant occur?

   Everything. Contained in this classroom

   is a microcosm of human experience

   assembled for you to query and examine and ponder

   This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered

   but it was one place

   And you weren’t here

I don't know if this happens in middle school and high school classes, but I know it happens in college classrooms. A student--usually one for whom you have already amended the saying, "there are no stupid questions,"--comes in after an absence and loudly asks, "Did I miss anything?" (My husband once responded to this when he was a T.A. with, "No. Once we realized you were absent, we just stayed silent and stared at one another." Another T.A., one of his friends, once marched the entire class to the absent student's dorm room to bring the class to him. Ah, youth!)

Besides the joy anyone who has ever taught others will get from reading this poem, there is more to be gleaned. Actually, everything. This poem summarizes all of our experiences--some things don't matter in the long run and other things are historic--at least to each individual--but what truly makes anything significant is being there. Being present. Having those experiences.

Most life events fall somewhere in between the Nothing and Everything--like the space in between the stanzas in this poem--and they are just as important.

The extremes the poet presents in this poem may seem ridiculous, but when viewed as life choices, they really are not. I will also make the case for classes because I know I" have been changed by classes I was in and I have seen students changed by a class: an assigned poem makes someone decide to call their dad after a long silence, a novel helps a student decide on a major, an essay allows a student to feel seen and heard. Teachers at any level can tell you that these transformations happen every single day.

Had Tom Wayman written a poem telling us that life is full of moments and they all matter, I would not be posting that here on my blog. But his use of humor (yea!) and his taking a large concept and showing readers by using a smaller, specific concrete situation is what makes this poem so wonderful.