Doors

absenteeism
shuffles in a class bully
to begin my day

meeting turned sour
by news of favorite students
choosing other schools

(but i don’t blame them
after my reception here
and structure-less rules)

lunch: a cruel email
brings sixty minutes on hold
all for eight digits

if i had those numbers
for what i should earn each day
this wouldn’t matter

dean’s accusation
ends my locked-door afternoon
loss, theft, and questions

at home, door swings wide
my baby with arms open
smile bright as birth

we draw skating paths
multicolored chalk, sunsets
stress melts into love

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A Dream Unrealized

Modeled after “Harlem” by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream unrealized?

Does it disappear
like the morning mist?
Or wallow in sorrow
like a lover unkissed?
Does it bubble up
like a blister from a burn?
Or fall to ashes
like a loved one in an urn?

Maybe it just weeps
like a lost child.

Or does it run wild?

Sonnet for Equality

Modeled after “Sonnet XVIII” by William Shakespeare

Sonnet for Equality

Shall I compare you to a summer’s dream?
You are permanent in the public’s view
In this new world things can sometimes seem
As fair as fair can be if they ask you
But we all know that you don’t always shine
As bright as King summoned under His light
And with the devil, time oft stays behind
And souls oft forget to fight the good fight
Your absence makes a death toll hard to bear
When those in charge can only summon hate
Yet I know deep down you will always care
For humans who would like to change their fate
Equality, I ask for sweet returns
Into hearts seeking solace for their burns

Mother to Daughter

Modeled after “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes

Well, daughter, I’ll tell you,
Life for me hasn’t been an easy download.
It’s had loading time
and viruses,
and malware warnings,
and hard drive crashes,
and places with no wifi at all—
dead.
But all the time
I’ve been surfing along,
and reaching social media,
and writing blog posts,
and saving work to Drop Box,
and sometimes going through the Google maze
where ten million links can’t answer my query.
So, girl, don’t shut down.
Don’t you give in to the start menu.
Because when you find it’s hard to wait
you know the pinwheel of death will stop spinning
And I’m still surfing,
I’m still keeping my screen on,
And life for me hasn’t been an easy download.

Marade

small signs and short legs
blue sky memories of faith
some fear is slipping

but in children’s eyes:
perfect for play and joy
humanity’s rainbow

if we could all climb
to the top of the goal post
his dream would come true

not just a Marade
a gathering of lost souls
hoping for what’s right

with their eyes, see it:
the world he wanted. Here.
not a shot fired.

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Ring Tones

why do i hear bells
far-off church in my bedroom
while i try to sleep?

is it divine light
keeping me awake at night
or stress, magnified?

(i recall the bells
ringing love in Michelen–
Belgian waffle day

chocolate, Belgian beer
no words for: straight from the source
and the bell college

chiming through the square
an echo i can’t forget
haunting, pleasing me)

this isn’t Poe’s poem
oh but the bells, bells, bells, bells!!
chocolate for my soul

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The Housing Mark

dreaded decision
of a home no longer ours
that’s not worth selling

with caution we’ll choose
the path that sets in motion
the rest of our lives

please, a pinch of luck
for the money pit shadow
bought by newlyweds

bring it under light
to shine on our new knowledge
of how the world works

Catch Me a Moon

before dawn, i walk
full moon of icy danger
to be there for them

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classroom lit, open
first day, students new to me
i set standards high

phones, backtalk, shouting
first impression resistance
shake me to my core

after school begging
for schedule changes, fallbacks
they hate and love me

i missed my girls’ smiles
their good-morning kisses, hugs
to face this chaos?

slushy post-school walk
to their bright eyes, warm faces
lost in built-up play

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then, online ranting
plagiarizing grown student
demanding grade change

why you, and not them?
the question of my moon day
please… catch me a moon

make it bright like them
shining beyond snowy morn
lighting, guiding love

Planning. To Not Plan.

what secrets are found
in twenty years of letters?
and what dreams will come?

at sixteen, desperate
first love turmoil, heart crushed
i lived for friends, love

at twenty-six, scared
new baby, husband’s lost job
i lived on blind faith

now, thirty-six,
my life begins to balance
career, family… home??

sleep in which bed, house?
on which continent–east, west?
in whose arms–mine, his?

the letter will tell
my thirty-six-year-old goals
where my heart beats now

but heartbeats have wings
my girls will be all grown up
the world will change

i hope to keep up
with the childlike soul i dreamt
as a young lovebird

while at the same time
accepting life’s challenges
and… i can’t plan them

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Bask. Basque.

Cartagena blues
teasing me with memories
soldier guarding life

here i am, snowbound
(silent beauty winter)
biting cold, warm home

i could take this pic
right there next to that palm tree
basque in Spain sun

but i am here now
family on every corner
tongue out for snowflakes

tasted continents
on either side of the sea
and i am home now

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