TEACHER'S DESK Made of teak or some other wood; Natural and without veneer - Except a patina of passing time Soft and Dark, laid down in layers for character. Squat; low set, and slung wide for comfort. Square cut and symmetrical, With all the appearance of an alter grown over. The corners have been rounded and you belong here amid the chalk, Where once you stood out with scrubbed austerity. You have no carved ornaments, but countless passing people have cut their names on you, in dinner break or after school. -- Nigel McLoughlin, contempory, "Leitrim Guardian"