A dead man stalks her
Haunting her dreams still
Scars he left covered in ink
A dead man shattered her
Electrocuted, waterboarded
Tortured and terrorized yet
She lives on where most
Would have faded away
11.14.19
The greatest lie ever told
All men are created equal
Though not defined by
Atoms and compounds
Cells, marrow, blood, bone
Debt and dollar divide us
11.13.19
Teachers I love leave the classroom
Faster than the desks falling apart
Administration cowers to lying parents
Natural consequences be damned
We, the teachers, have no one watching
Our backs, besides each other, anymore
There’s no point in staying on to see how
Bad it will get, there’s no place for me
11.12.19
The truth is that none of us matter
The universe does not recognize us
The stars will not mourn our loss
But if every life is a universe of its own
Then the story matters to someone
And making a difference to one soul
Can bring a little peace to all
11.11.19
I once had a thought that teaching would be a nice career
Shelving dreams of writing things that meant more to me
Ten years in and again the words I have yet to write weigh
Heavier now than they’ve ever been, the shelves bend in
I count down the days until I’m free again, dreaming when
The shelves come down and a life of story-telling begins