December 18, 2008
When I first began this project, I set out to write a series of haikus that capture, in some way, the unique personalities of my students. Like the students themselves, the poems refused to adhere to conventional form. With these poems, I wanted to portray some of the heartbreaking challenges and amazing triumphs that these young people are presently encountering in their lives. After writing these poems and reading them together, I believe I have gained a new understanding of how profoundly my students have affected my life and shaped who I am today and who I will become as a teacher.
I owe these students a great deal, for they have taught me so many lessons — lessons I could never have learned from a textbook or from sitting in a classroom as a student. Each of these students has caused my heart to swell and break and swell anew, sometimes in the course of a minute. They have made me laugh and they have made me cry. They have offered me both support and encouragement and have often been the sole reason I have been able to continue on with the M.A.T. program.
The Music of Gwendolyn Brooks
Head and limbs wagging,
he unites body with beat.
His dance brings poetry to life.
Missing
She’s been expelled.
Indecency on the school bus.
I hold drafts of her songs in my hand.
The Outlier
He mines the shadows of Seuss,
unearths the hilarity of Plath,
and coaxes us all to think deep.
Low Blood Sugar
She needs the school nurse again.
Diabetes is like a tyrant,
and today it demands she miss our talk of similes.
Lost Cause?
“He’s a gang member,”
Several teachers tell me at lunch.
“No,” I reply, “he’s a poet.”
Upon Listening to Snowy Woods
Holding Frost with both hands
as one would a robin’s egg,
she tips her head, dreaming.
Rendezvous Denied
Another request;
but no bathrooms or boys today!
She sulks behind her book.
G.E.D.
“Why finish high school?”
“I always fails anyway!” — he says
“Besides, what use is there in poetry?”
Quoting T.S. Elliot
“Dare I eat a peach?”
She squints. “What’s his problem?”
She challenges, still flooded by Katrina’s wrath.
Off Topic
“Do you like raspberries?”
“Let’s try to focus on the poem. Okay?”
“But I really want to know.”
First String
Yes, he’s the star quarterback,
but he also crushes stereotypes
with the flex of his brain.
ADHD Unplugged
He and I share a mission:
we both strive to accommodate “normal” people
because, sadly, they often suffer from CDD — creativity deficit disorder.
Ode to Beckham
You don’t believe in magic?
Just mention David Beckham’s name
then watch as apathy disappears before your very eyes.
Invisible
Although tall, she curls into her desk,
making herself small.
I pray for the power to show her that she is beautiful.
