Inspired

This week we are celebrating the work of Nikki Grimes. Thanks to Irene Latham for hosting this week: https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2020/06/nikki-grimes-poetry-friday-roundup-is.html

Here is my poem inspired by Nikki Grimes, specifically from her work Bronx Masquerade:

I wake up and look out the window 

The city streets bustling

Change is on the horizon

My heart beats

I want to do more

I want transformation

I want community

I want to learn, to grow, to apologize

I want to own up

I want to keep myself accountable

This city buzzes with change

I want to be in it, not just watching through a window

Finding Common Ground

This conversation feels redundant

I feel stranded

I speak and try to communicate but I am stunned

The way you evade and saunter

Around things that make you feel unrest

You and I are separated by a tundra

You rattle off facts and dates

I discuss and try to change my tune

At odds, as is our natures

I hope we stop trying to unseat

I wish we turned

To reach a corner, a new trend

Where we talk and hear 

Listen to what is true

Seek to understand 

Dear Students

This is my Poetry Friday post. This week's host is https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2020/06/05/poetry-friday-letter-to-my-students/

Dear students

It is harder than ever to be away

There are so many things I wish I could say

There are so many moments I wish I had cherished

This is not the school year we planned

But still

You rose to the occasion

You did the work with patience, persistence, inquiry

I miss your faces

I miss your "Bonjours" in the hallway

I miss your coats in the lockers

I miss your telling me the latest songs, shows, artists

I hope for a better world

I pledge to fight for you

You all deserve it 

You deserve better

This isn't goodbye

It's only au revoir for now 

Understand

It's redundant to say

Stranded without knowledge

Daunted with difference in experience

Stunned by what is around us

Saddened and confused

Trends pass

I hope this moment is used well and not traded

The unrest is welcome

The page is turned

Sure our natures will unseat naysayers

Nurse wounds 

But stun with the tune of change and progress

Don't just rent a space

Duet to address what ails us 

Enough

This is my reflection on this week and inspired by this week's Poetry Friday host blog: https://readingyear.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-poetry-friday-roundup-is-here.html?showComment=1590773812825#c2658929847423992507

Enough

Enough is what I'm not doing

Enough is how others are feeling

Enough 

Not good

Not good that violence reels

Not good enough injustice prevails

Not good enough

Silence

is not enough

Ignoring

is not a solution

I must do more

Enough 

Chirp

Open window

Whoosh 

Cars rush by 

Chirp

An unfamiliar sound 

Chirp 

A sign of life

This is my Poetry Friday post. This week's host is Carol Varsalona  https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/

Time

Quarantine time 

E   X  T E N D S...

Daysblendtogether

Months pass

Some S L O W...

Some are filled with sadness

and loss

and fear

Some are cold 

and dreary

and have you on edge

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting

For change

For warmth

For hope

Then

Sun shines again

Cheers fill with joy

The tide seems to be changing

Time is healing 

Joy

Excitement rises from head to toe

Bliss

A calm dissipates

A sea of elation rises

Anticipation that's cheerful

Uncertainty of what to expect

Is for once

Enlightening

Ready for the change

Surrounded by new beginnings

And new life 

The smile on the faces of family

And friends now far away

Brings delight

Joyful

For what is here

And what is to come 

The Ocean

This post was inspired by my Teach Write writers group. We all participated in writing an Ocean poem using the book Write the Poem.

This is also my first Poetry Friday post. This week's host is Jama's Alphabet Soup: https://jamarattigan.com/2020/05/14/poetry-friday-roundup-is-here-12/

Vast, dark, and deep

Close
But feels distant
There's a chill
A tingle when toes touch
The smell of salt
Tide comes in and out
Foam rolls between feet

Whoosh
Whoosh
Whoosh

In
    Out
In
   Out
In
  Out

The waves crash
The sea a deeper blue
Thoughts released
Worries let go
Only for a moment

In the vast, dark, and deep

To NYC, with love

To my darling, my love,

I can see you healing
I can hear you breathing
There's a lightness in you
A spring in your step

The horns honk
The taxis fly by
The sun shines down
And your streets shine

I'm so happy to see you in recovery

We put you through hell
You won't look exactly the same
But you are here
Rising up again

You bring us hope
You bring us love
We fight for you
You care for us

We are so lucky

We mourn those lost
We pray for healing
We cheer for hope

We thank your doctors and nurses
They are the ones
who saved you
And the ones
Who saved us

Thank you New York,
I'll continue to love you
And I'll never leave you

You Can’t Do This

The morning after you can’t do this

It isn’t the exact words you said
But it’s how you made me feel
unworthy
unimportant
untalented
It burned, it pained, it nearly brought me to tears
I know what I am capable of
I manifest it
It will happen

You weren’t the first to make me feel

But I look back now and laugh

That moment stung

But now I laugh

You will be so wrong

I envision it

And you will just be a funny story

Pandemic Ponderings

Pandemic poetry
Not so beautiful as William
Or alliterative as Emily
Or worldly as Walt
Or illustrious as Ralph
Or moving as Maya

But still, I write

Times are strange
It all feels upside down
We are on screens for work and play and connection
We watch the news
We can read logarithmic graphs
We made a Doctor a celebrity for a good reason

We cheer at 7pm to celebrate the frontline,
Healthcare workers who are fighting to save our lives
Cheers aren't enough thanks
Heroes they are, but better treatment they deserve

We sit and stress
and pray and drink
We Zoom, we write
We dream, we think

When will this be over?
When will we be ok?
When will we see our friends?

What is life like after we've lost?
How will we honor those who are gone?
How will we rise again and be strong?