Performing in front of parents is a collective moment of shared humiliation. The umbilical cord connecting them to their parents weakens a little under the harsh stage lights that bleach their eye sockets and inextricably and tightly binds them into a group. dangling astronauts grasping…

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…

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…

I march bravely into the unknown. The silent room slowly awakens. Gentle go the lights. The teacher’s words draw my eyes. A quick reverie amidst the sounds of squeaking sneakers and slamming lockers. tapping the window sharply robin interrupts wisps of fluffy clouds One-by-one the…

Colorful fliers greet them upon entry. Promises of utdoor games, slip ‘n slide, snow cones, a semi-scary movie, and prizes for best costumes. Sister Sledge on the intercom. We are family. I’ve got all my sisters with me. We bebop to the music. She balances…

In the stillness of winter, when all is cold and grey, Juni yearns for the summer warmth of Min. Their lives are now located at opposite ends of the world and meeting each other almost seems impossible. Winter, dark and grey Summer, spring and autumn…

I don’t want your money or jewels or wind in my sails I won’t ask for the moon or the stars or shelter from either I just want to pray together for the sake of prayer we don’t have to agree on words or say anything at…

Part of what I’m hoping to do over the course of the marathon is (should circumstances allow) is work on poems in proposed sequences/other projects. The previous poem “Duchess of Oldenburg” (though owing to the prompt, it was very different to how I thought it…

The Beauty of the Bonsai Family trees may bear much fruit yet some branches never get to grow. We must face occasionally the mortality of youth. The loss scars bark and molds form. We cherish every leaf and find the blooming flowers still as sweet,…

Inside today: inside my house, inside my room, inside my bed, inside my head. This is the price for two consecutive days of activity. Behind the netting, an open window. Open curtains too, now that the glaring sun is in retreat. Air-holes made for this…