Saturday, June 13, 2020

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

Thursday, June 11, 2020

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 


Friday, June 5, 2020

Dear 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 

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

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