these summer rainstorms
bring breezy joy to hot days
(save us from the drought)
my former student
once a refugee herself
now teaches me hope
making me these masks
so i can mouth English words
as when i taught her
Cool Down. Breathe.
immigration
Cilantro (Culantro)
he corrected me
even though it’s in Spanish
white buds. so pretty.
‘no’ is a new word
yet so familiar to me.
so adolescent.
we’ll see where this goes.
a flat road to nowhere fast?
or the sky, endless?
Coronatine, Day Thirteen
i broke free today
with packets for every kid
(delivered by me)
and to top it off
i made me a home office
for online learning
(but it still won’t work
we all know relationships
are all that will work)
Today, a Ray of Hope
art in varied forms:
sharing her colored pencils
and spring popping up
Will You Make Me a Valentine?
a Valentine game
with two of the four children
this magic cabin
(no romance tonight.
just a son he let me have.
love is beautiful.)
Th-th-thank You
the mid-winter blues:
sometimes words stick in our teeth
unspittable pith
but i will teach them
the ‘t-h’ intricacies
of learning English
i will not give up
’cause they’ve crossed every border
to learn love’s language
La Bestia Beckons
we will never know
how sketchy the ride will be
until we arrive
Shut Your Ego
all you need to know:
we legally have this kid
(it’s not your business)
Day 24
my son shares his home
with diagonal slices
of sweet plátanos
Soak It Up
new year refinance
to close out our former life
as we take this step
