poems – Page 4

when your skin looks too much like oppression

too much like hatred too much like grim reaper like death personified on you it is your obligation to speak- even though you know your hands hold not strangle your lips kiss not cut- you are still part of the problem if you don’t use them to speak up against the problem. this is theContinue reading “when your skin looks too much like oppression”

when I read that the average life expectancy for someone living in the neighborhood I work is 68, I sobbed for the circles my students will likely not circle around the sun. I cried in the middle of grad class then realized what a damn privilege it is to be crying in the middle ofContinue reading

questions for my students and no these will not be on the test but they are so very much more important-

do you know about Einstein? and is it E=MC2 or the fact that he didn’t speak until he was 9, thought to be slow, was expelled from high school? do you know about Dr. Seuss? and is it all 1 fish 2 fish or is it the 27 rejected publishing attempts before his first success?Continue reading “questions for my students and no these will not be on the test but they are so very much more important-“

Here is every mental illness I’ve ever been diagnosed with, as a house.

because some people build homes out of their mental illnesses and I think I used to do that too. Homes are stable. Homes are steady. Homes are seemingly swell reasons not to go outside. This poem is a plea- Hey, no matter how comfortable your house is, please go outside. BIPOLAR is a house with soContinue reading “Here is every mental illness I’ve ever been diagnosed with, as a house.”

for all the honey

I have poured out of half-enjoyed human stories in chipped porcelain China cups held haphazardly in the hands of my history- I am writing a to-do list addressing my limitations. I am seeking to sip longer, to be self-loving, to be good, to be just to just be. to unlearn my fear of kissing flickeringContinue reading “for all the honey”