Nearly Departed

The first time I visited school during my sabbatical, one of the students looked at me as if he'd seen a ghost, a friendly ghost, but a mere spirit, nonetheless.

                                                                    Nearly Departed


                                                    Being on sabbatical is like attending
                                                    your own funeral. People are surprised
                                                    to see you among the living and say
                                                    the nicest things to your face, as if
                                                    the eulogies had already begun,
                                                    but then they go back to whatever
                                                    they were doing, and you realize
                                                    the power belongs to the those who took
                                                    your place: to those who are doing,
                                                    not to those who are taking a rest.