The Rise & Fall of Tina

She lagged well behind,
Disassociating, I think,
From the old tutor
Who mentored her each Tuesday.

He was uncomfortable with the separation.
Often she walked a pace off his lead.
Today the spread was much greater,
Tiny was fading

Entering the small room, they often used,
He cleared the desk, of bric-a-brac,
Moved the two folding chairs into place
Turned on the portable, floor heater.

Seven year old Tina, with quiet reluctance,
Seated herself opposite him.
The old man sensed something, caution?
Looking at Tiny he felt his stomach sink.

It had taken only 4 weeks
For this failed 2nd grader,
Unable to add 2 digit numbers,
To multiply 9 by 7.

He wondered at the change,
But had no idea of the cause.
Certainly, he had not seen such a leap
In10 years of mentoring.

Not given to ethereal interventions,
He knew his efforts, on her behalf
Were perhaps helpful,
Yet, did not explain the metamorphosis.

For 2 weeks after the math display,
That had catapulted her, to star status
Tiny wanted nothing more than to solve arithmetic problems.
He had witnessed an epiphany.

The old tutor was elated.
When had he seen such an awakening?
Never!
He did not believe in miracles.

Could such a possibility be spread?
Could others achieve this transformation?
Ill equipped, by books or experience,
He prepared to enter the world of the perplexed.

He’d done no research prior to today’s session.
There were questions he would ask,
But she was particularly withdrawn this morning,
Something was not right.

Tina was not interested in reading or spelling,
So he turned to math, again she shook her head.
Persuading her to try,
He began with 9 times 2.

She began counting on her fingers.
He was watching his world implode.
A god he rejected was laughing.

Barely containing his shock,
Trying to appear sympathetic,
Dumfounded by the change
He recalled others’ failed epiphanies.

Gone, all gone.
In Tina’s seat sat a sadly familiar child,
The one he’d helped years before,
Or was it just weeks.