Mimosa blossoms
shine like orbs of tiny suns
raining pink feathers
dextajean rodriguez
dextajean
Dexta Jean was raised in Arkansas, but her maternal ancestral home is Puerto Rico. She is a poet, a painter, a pilgrim, a mother, and a new Gigi. She also takes her conceptual art pieces and travels the region delivering "art sermons." She considers both poetry and visual art as powerful conduits to initiate discourse on the failings and celebrations of the human condition. Dexta Jean teaches college writing and is a doctoral candidate in the field of art leadership. She loves to laugh and sit among her ferns, hostas, and koi in her peace garden.
Subbing in America: Hour 18
to count to three and
after eat the M&M’s
all week he struggles
flicker of light in his eyes
his victory is short-lived
Subbing in America through Haiku: Hour 17
the first day they learn
conveyor belt of children
red apple for lunch
Subbing in America through Haiku: Hour 16
the scent of childhood
butterflies, sailboats and fish
break out the crayons
Subbing in America: Hour 15
a train lumbering
spray painted rusty cars
children stop their play
they face an alien beast
each day — it never gets old
Subbing in America through Haiku: Hour 14
he cannot focus
yet he stares out the window
maple leaves dancing
Subbing in America through Haiku: Hour 13
Boys and girls on the playground flitting from one group to another like busy working bees. The sound of gravel punctuates their movement like a garbled staccato measure and kicks up the dry smell of dirt. Eager hands dig up mounds of grass and cup them gingerly as they run to the others and plant them in a garden co-op: a well-oiled machine. The transplants wilt quickly.
assembly line work
synchronizing under boughs
of the pin oak tree
Subbing in America through Haiku: Hour 12
water from fountain
served in paper cup — like ice
tumbling over rocks
Subbing in America through Haiku: Hour 11
why do we still say
Pledge of Allegiance teacher
when our country does much wrong?
we pledge allegiance
to remind us of the way
so we do not remain lost
Subbing in America through Haiku: Hour 10
resource room students
can’t sit still but know every
word to Disney songs
A country man goes to town and sees a car hit a raven. Recognizing the bird as his neighbor he gently picks him up from the street and carries him home where he lays him in the yard. The partner bird spots him and shrills until all the birds within hearing distance joins in a funerary ritual.
in a large corner
is a wall of baby gates
building a safe place for him
They make a cacophonous and deafening noise from the trees then they fly en masse and surround the bird on the ground, gently prodding it.
autistic students
attention to everything
unable to stop
The next day the surviving partner carries a smooth round pebble in its beak and deposits it on the man’s doorstep.
when the last bell rings
teachers can barely keep up
the other safe place