an exhausting day
with my spirit-week “jersey”
and this fake smile
hidden by these masks
that have broken our world
like a rootless orchid
but this cat. this cat.
a soft purrfection presence
worth a real grin.
Reach for It
education
And Tears
trapped behind two masks,
we’re at the pandemic’s will:
all screens. no faces.
Hard Work Pays Off
the best mail ever
with a scholarship of hope
to fulfill her dreams
Senior Year Milestone One
dream school acceptance
in the midst of this nightmare
that’s 2020
what next, i wonder?
how will we survive all this
with all that we face?
the box comes early
before breath has settled us
into this next step
A Gift from 2020
a personal gift
from her aunt, for Sweet Sixteen
ripped open, stolen
how dark can it get?
two Honduran hurricanes,
pandemic, no school?
and now birthday gifts
being stolen from our porch
while we sit like sheep?
Pink Limbs
sometimes the sunrise
is the best part of the day
(before darkness falls)
Pandemic Teaching
One of my students just called me and in his very broken English told me I upset him in class today because I wasn’t on screen the whole time. He was in tears and his father yelled at him. Why wasn’t I on screen the whole time?
Because I was walking around my classroom trying to check in on the twelve kids who showed up today. Because I was trying to get two kids who have done zero work because of their utter terror of technology finally logged into our textbook.
Because I was making a tiny bit of progress with two kids, and breaking another.
Because it’s 2020 and I don’t know how to teach anymore. 💔
But I wore this mask and put up the new background fireworks to celebrate a candidate who literally has the power to change or save their lives and their families’ lives, and I smiled.
So why am I crying now?
Blue Morning
invading our walk
this kitty thinks she’s a dog
(Trump’s America)
but we’ll win it back
as i splash blue on two screens
for my kids to watch
Smile and Nod
tried to woo them here
but only a few have come
so this is my life
What Is Left?
hours of phone calls
texts pleading in languages
i don’t even speak
setting up my room
with a yardstick and some hope
ready for today
social media
comments on our lack of space
(century-old school)
2020 wins.
after this, i just give up.
no one came to school.
to walk empty halls
without the student voices
cold. slow. loveless. death.
Step Write Up 