Poet & Teacher

Who dreams in Nike commercials
and asked me to write him a poem

Whose smile reminds me of Lebron James
and slam dunks classroom doorframes

Who in one year alone has gone
from little boy to built
still sorting out how people react to him

He would like for this poem to rhyme
but it is not that simple
or I am simply too dense
to code switch that fast

He passed me a post-it once
“Can I go to
the bathroom to
cool down of
my father and I
don’t want to
cry in class
Please”

My file cabinet of his meltdowns
rolodex my afternoon runs
mom is mad at us
mad at him

How can we lift him up

pass him the assist
to more
than slam dunk?

After work staring
a construction worker on the roof of the school across the street
drifts my thoughts to the not pattern of my splattered coffee
the dirty cup on my desk rests in my mind
(moment  of take a break, sit down, stalks on)

Break what?
Not respond to the mother
with cervical cancer
who called
to the quiet that fell in the office
to the hush
to the suspended one who walked outside to mother
the littler ones

To you in the back seat with your son
puppeteering him through
determinedly glassy eyed
smile
how long you survive
not quite crying
perseverance or die

You sit strapped in
back seat of the car
(the care of a ride)

Everyone needs a backseat
sometimes
(and still you are holding him
holding so much
your son)

Me up front
young, unsure what will come
crying to silly lyrics
ellipsis flashback
my mother chastising me
for pulling parents hands to touch
fixing: internal eternal impulse
braving face some moments
others unsure
the world is
so beautiful

Their faces
their eyes
the counselor next door
making a poster with a girl
saying “it’s ok to cry,”

Our office sustains
hoping another he
will not get shot
Call his mother at 3 o’clock
Don’t forget
tomorrow is twin day
the mundane we live for
the earnest look up of hopes
the screams worth the strain
to reassure normalcy
to make space
for construction
for hope
for against all odds
holding on
to the beauty of stories
of what is and what was
and what will be
getting there
being here
all at once

Conducting an ocean
you carry on
you carry us.

I wake up cranky in the morning
and sneer through the shower to peppy music
I’ve self-inflicted as brighten up regimen;

I threaten to call home on an ESL student
because she won’t speak and I just know
she understands more English than that;

A parent says to me “It’s so nice to see you;
You always wear the funniest things,”
and I just smile and nod

I suggest outdoor recess in a snowstorm
because it will be fun
broken bones and liability inside
Why not? A little voice pipes
pipe pipe
pipe pipe
vacation calls

Varying by situation and person
plus corners, directionals
children and trying to explain

life is not simply ethics
or a college course gone awry
people’s lives hinge on listening

we take corners, we take to our sheets
we hide when too much is demanded all at once
confluence has its way with us

follow sugar on your tongue when you taste it
take the cues of sour stand back and revel