day begins and ends
with the shuffle of all days
but with this lake view
poetry
Flower Power
what we need this June
is blooming summer beauty
to refresh our lives
A Few of My 57 Curriculum Training Haikus
8:15
summer holidays:
curriculum training hell
for texts i won’t teach
8:25
at least we get paid
for wasted time this Monday
(planning my vacay)
9:00
psycho white girl texts
with teen serial killers:
way to start the year.
9:13
unit one: three essays?
complex texts, presentations…
for kids who don’t read
10:02
college and career:
key words to pressure teachers
to make miracles.
10:48
standards-based rulers
measure how inadequate
their understanding is
11:21
what the fuck is this?
we’re making popcorn today?
kernels are for birds
11:35
connect to their lives
teen rebellion feeds us all
and sucks life from us
11:42
i’ll catch you some notes:
a real, low-level class–
let’s try a scaffold
11:49
these questions lack hope
for virtually all our kids
we’re adding rigor?
11:53
curriculum rocks
when i write it for my kids
so why am i here?
12:47
can we read the texts,
plan together with our teams,
stop mindless bullshit?
1:42
anchor my thoughts, please:
texts are not relatable
to kids in my class
2:24 (Heinz 57)
i’m making ketchup
though it sure as fuck needs spice
just like this training
Love Will Live
in this tragic life
whose pain touches all of us
we must find beauty
around the curved path,
falling angel-like from trees,
a blue mountain view,
the eyes of a child,
the joy of family outings–
hope that love will live
Location:S Leyden St,Denver,United States
Just a Touch
summer sky in soft shades of blue,
saying good night to another dream house day,
my oldest baking brownies in the kitchen
(running out for recipe updates)
all tucked behind the shallow breeze
tickling the quaking aspen leaves
and it’s so temporarily beautiful,
this sky, this evening summer vacay moment,
i want to trap it here in this lens,
in this heart,
in this life,
and wrap my arms around
the subtle hint of pink clouds
before they disappear
The Truth Hurts
entrepreneurs
earned more than i did today
selling lemonade
Loan Forgiveness
day started with angst:
with backtalk and attitude
lost in a battle
midday mellowing
came with a surprise measure
of all my hard work
by evening? they won.
their debts forgiven–for friends,
summer, being kids.
Keepsake
they’ve asked to return
every year on the same date
hoping for magic
(it’s found in sunsets,
impossible mountain views
we don’t have at home)
i would give them gold
that rests at mountain bases
if i had god’s touch
i’d throw in rainbows,
the best birth town visit yet,
Colorado love
we could come back here–
try to capture this bright view–
or keep it with us
Always.
Stress Wash
all is washed away
with silhouettes over sand
in a summer storm
Ode to Mixer
i waited four years
to have my Kitchenaid back
too bad you’re broken
this last, lost moment
before i burnt the cookies
will be remembered
goodbye, my mixer,
my flourless-chocolate King,
my sweet-tooth master
i’ve missed your batches,
your easy whipping of eggs,
your strength to knead bread.
but i let you live
in the cold hands of strangers
who kneaded your death
alas, we all die
and it’s time for us to part
forever now, love
may you rest in peace
while i strengthen my right arm
while mixing by hand
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