Day 5 PAD 2023

This poem is presented in its rough draft form for the PAD 2023 challenge and will be revised. 

“Lockdown in Nebraska”

A scheduled practice drill.
Lights. Locks. Out of Sight.
Stay silent to save us
from death on the other side of the door.

But the students can’t help whispering
about yesterday when a nearby
small town school didn’t have
a scheduled practice drill.

A stranger appeared on school grounds,
holding true to a threat they sent
on social media - the school went;
Lights, Locks, Out of Sight.

My administration pulls the fire alarm.
Someone knocks - pleads to come in.
I motion to the students with my hand,
stay silent to save us.

I can’t help but feel disheartened
in the darkness of my own classroom.
I do not know how to protect us
from death on the other side of the door.


Poetic Form: Cascade

Poetic Form 24: Found Poetry

Third Part Twitter Life

Twitter thinks I'm

some of my English teachers and

started years ago

Your favorite method?

Have a future...

Not feeling it?

I really struggle on new books:

concept art in, is a gem.

Are you looking?

I broke bread,

when I saw

the next chapter…

Poetic Form #24: Found Poetry

Found poetry is written by taking words not originally meant to be a poem
and creating a poem by them. The words can come from newspaper articles,
instructions, recipes, letters, e-mails, direct mail or any written document. 
You do not alter the original words. You create the poem with line breaks 
and cutting out excess words. I happen to use three word phrases from my
twitter feed. Yes, the first tweet had the phrase I used in the first line… 
I love it when life aligns like that.

To the Teenage Boy Walking to School

It's been four years

since I've been in the classroom

but I still recognize the gait

    backpack slung low on the shoulders

earbuds in

    eyes on the sidewalk

head down, just a little

not gazing up at all

as if afraid to look the sun in the eye

I could tell from the look

I wonder what happens every day

    Do they taunt you

Is there someone who hates you

for no reason

Tearing up your homework between the bells

or breaking your pencils

    leaving you to take notes with a stub

or worse

    asking the teacher for a pencil

    bracing yourself for them to roll their eyes

    asking you why you never have a pencil

I speed by

    Life moves fast in the morning

    In my rearview mirror

    I watch you slowly shuffle along the sidewalk

    The school only two blocks away

    I say a small prayer

    that maybe today will be a good day

    for you

6 a.m. Flight

I’m traveling from Grand Island to Madison

Off the Wing

 by way of Dallas

A clear sky

  the horizon wrapped in a rose colored ribbon

I can see the fields crisscrossed with roads

The land spotted with ponds and streams

Streetlights visible from small towns

 like spilled salt on a dark table cloth

By now my family is starting their morning routine

As are so many other families below our plane

I can see the day unfold

 beautiful from 20000 ft

But I start to wonder about the things I can’t see

  I can’t see the hungry child looking for something

  to eat in the bare cupboards

 I can’t see the dad sipping coffee as he makes

 his daughter’s lunch, she doesn’t like the school’s chicken

 I can’t hear the teenage son yell at his mom

 knowing it hurts her but he is so angry lately

 I can’t hear the dedicated teacher order her coffee

 the excitement of a new lesson spurring her to school early

I can’t experience the thousands of stories unfolding beneath me

as the curve of the sun rises from the horizon

  Slow and steady

  Making me squint to watch the darkness fade away on this new day

I smile as I text my family to have a wonderful day

For a second I understand the cliche

 that this life is a gift

 and through the joy and the pain

 it is my day to live

Then my phone vibrates

 “U 2 Dad”