Super Bowl Ski

yes, the Broncos won.
 but Rio overcame fear:
 the true victory.
 
 

Throwback Thursday

i want this time back:
 three still-young girls, a castle
 (Portuguese heaven)
 

No Theft Today

January thaw
 before the snowstorm sets in
 brings preteen joy back
 
 she rides her scooter,
 climbs a few trees, swings youth back
 (perfect afternoon)
 
 

To-Do List

an organized life
 that she inherits from me
 mother to daughter
 
 

Freeze Talk

i want this captured
 to remember this evening
 (dark, icy outside)
 
 not the budget talk,
 the back talk, the endless talk
 sucking life from days
 
 this. this song, this spin,
 this moment of childhood.
 ice the sweet playground
 
 no darkness. no cold.
 warmth found in sisters’ giggles
 that silence all talk.
 

January Flurries

scheduling request
 based on lawsuits they have lost
 adds work to my plate
 
 there’s no equity
 for teachers, kids, or parents
 trying to get by
 
 so i’ll wake early
 make gradebooks for fake classes
 and do twice the work
 
 i just want to know:
 who has time to litigate
 with kids in their life?
 
 questions unanswered
 to close a winter Monday
 just sprinkled with sun
 
 
 
 

Stolen

thievery on kids
 with granted Christmas wishes:
 a new kind of low
 
 scooter happiness
 snatched from public library
 while books stole our hearts
 
 between this and puke
 and sis stuck in Kentucky
 (in snow of all things)
 
 this week weighs heavy
 for this mom, sister, teacher
 (no end to winter)
 
 but the sun was high
 and we’re rich with two jobs now
 (solved our scooter blues)
 
 and we have love here
 stolen from youth to old age
 given to these girls
 
 

She Comes… I Stay

burst from these dark days
 of post-holiday winter
 news to change a life
 
 (or ten thousand lives)
 cause that’s how many she’ll touch
 in her tenure here
 
 this comes full circle
 (the young-mother sacrifice,
 the risky Spain year)
 
 to work with passion
 to be led with compassion
 to love, love my school
 
 it’s all i’ve wanted
 thirteen years waiting for strength
 to be my leader

Black and White and Blue

winter-lit moments
 after seventeen hours
 are worth the world
 
 


clean house, soft kitty
 best: sun in January
 will soothe me to sleep
 

Los Ganadores

fourteen class hours
 in three days. cold winter walk
 to house of illness.
 
 


no breaks this weekend
 as oldest tells project woes
 (procrastination)
 
 middle craves pancakes
 but class again tomorrow
 allows no bake time
 
 (he’ll be up all night
 holding a pail for baby
 to give me this chance)
 
 as it’s always been–
 i work, work, work… he supports
 (and we’re all winners)