You Two, Incorrigible

You Two, Incorrigible

 April 14, 2015 

It’s us against them 

nowadays

It never used to be

that way

It was just 

us.

Snowglobe us.

Peeps, animal crackers, lunch, laughter

us.

Children’s problems

Family issues

us.

But we had it all-under control

just us.

Now,

We don’t know how 

to think about anything.

If we spent the amount 

of time

it would take 

to process everything

We would be more processed

Than all the Cheezits 

in a supersize box.

She came to me 

in my dream,

you know.

She was youthful

Beautiful

Her voice,

as we remember it,

Sassy, tough,

Full of conviction

Strength of thousands,

Strength for all of us.

just us.

Us.

She told me 

Not to tell you

I am sure she knew

that I would

After all,

it was never me, 

then  you,

then her,

It was always,

Us.

When I did tell you anyway

I am sure she knew 

I would;

When I did anyway

We laughed,

We ached,

But we laughed anyway.

The two of us

We laughed

imagining

She would be shaking her head in heaven.

She’d say,

You two,

Incorrigible.  

Chaos Theory poem 2011

Chaos Theory

Upon the occasion of another birthday

April 5, 2011

Chaos theory claims connection

with creativity

Issues in infancy indicate imagination

a writer’s paradise

Yet those who have sought control

Meticulous measure

 Color compulsion to combat anxiety

Breathing focus

All these pale in comparison to chaos

of thought, of action

Family dysfunction, fantasies to fruition

Wall postings

Tell truth, tell all, testimony of mental torture

As caretaker

All information breeds chaos to wellness

As of wellness

A lifetime of attempts to order a chaotic world

Sixteen measure phrases

Rondos, variations, ostinatos

Patterns, continued

Motions, choreographed

Alliteration to allies, annual installments

Poetry for prayer

Form becomes art

Creativity breeds connection

Connection becomes communication

Communication turns chaos into creativity

Chaos as creativity?

Ah, no-

I differ in this regard

Creativity creates communication

a form of prayer

A creative answer

a letting go of order in a chaotic world.

I read one morning- Another Poem of Remembrance

WE THRIVE ON IT

By Susan Frank

April 8, 2016

In celebration of all our rituals together

As they may disappear..

I read one morning

Silent sustained reading

A quotation that brought me

Back to us

The quote was this:

“We survive by ritual”

We don’t thrive on it

We don’t ask for it

We don’t run with it

We don’t live by it

We Survive by it.

The rituals have changed

So much over the years

How can we imagine

That we thought 

They wouldn’t change?

And now,

On the edge of another 

Possible change

You, all these years

Later

Is it really time? 

RITUAL

We survive by ritual

Peeps, animal crackers,

Yellow Snoopy lunch boxes

Annual poems on birthdays

Morning cafeteria chats

Reminiscences of times beloved

Lunches of many colors

Dreams of cures 

Laughs over tastes, stories,

A phrase, a gift, a child’s folly

We survive by ritual

Mourning our losses

Shared grief

Chances deteriorated

Notes of condolences

Fighting together 

For what is right

Owning up

To our falls

Mistakes

Having our voices heard

If only by each other

Loving Topo Gigio

Him loving us

We shall always survive 

By ritual

It embraces us

It envelops us

It consumes us

It welcomes us 

We wear it as armor

A coat of comfort

A shawl of solidarity

And I ask again,

How will I continue my course

Of ritualistic survival

Upon your leavetaking? 

Alone By My Side- Remembering Betty

Alone, By My Side

April 5, 2020

To add to the collection

Not just another year

A year like no other

I try to take a positive view

She would want that

The laundry always clean

And folded now

Rested, 

A car, idle, no risking my life

On the highway

My closets

Clean, organized,

Unneeded documents

Shredded

The air less polluted

No commuters

Classical music nourishes 

All day long

Late afternoon walks

For sanity sake

I talk to myself

Which is really to her

All day long

Alone by my side

What would she say? 

She would shake her head

That mellifluous, vulnerable voice,

“What has transpired?”

She would say

She would be among those

Who need to shop for groceries

Between six and seven am

Compromised immune system

Indignant, she’d be 

But she would share her supplies

Of paper products

With us

Single-ply

We would have long conversations

On the phone

As we always did

We would find ways to laugh

Even about this too.

But the other day

A roll of the coveted white

Just fell off the back of the toilet

No provocation 

Was it perched in a precarious position?

Or was she talking to me?

Rooting for me?

I prefer to believe the latter

I talked back to her

You are right, I laughed

There will be enough

And I will be good enough

For my students this way

And this too shall pass, she said

As she always did before

With so little noise

So few distractions

No laughing children

No hand blower roaring

From across the hall

No loudspeakers

Calling indoor recess today

No piece of cake delivered

To celebrate a child’s birthday

She speaks to me

Loud and clear

She says,

“You have no idea

How fortunate you are

A job, your health

A beautiful home

Children who stay in touch

With photographs and videos

All day long”

She was always right

And it isn’t as though

I didn’t always know that

I did, I Do

We knew her

We loved her

We KNOW her, in fact

And we LOVE her still

We do know, one more year

How fortunate we are

For

As alone as we are

She is

For another year

By our side. 

WEEK THREE- ONLINE TEACHING ADVICE

Here is what I have learned so far in this crazy time we are in.  This new "NORMAL" feels strange still and complicated and cold and sterile.  Here are a few things I have learned that I would like to share just about the experience, not about the "teaching".

1.) Don't watch too much news of any kind, real or fake, it's overwhelming and will be the absolute downfall of anyone personally who is social distancing and trying to do the "right thing".

2.) Create parameters around your work.  Now that you are working at home, remember that it will always be there, all those emails, all those announcements, even if you step away for a little while.  Give yourself some time away from it, create boundaries, boundaries and you will be grateful at the end of the week that you are not completely drained, "crevee" as they say in French!

3.) Take walks, runs, go away from the house to other places where there are no people; good luck with that because beaches and parks are closed, but there are deserted streets to walk on, and breaths of fresh air are a welcome distractions from this claustrophobic environment.

4.) Create a structure for your day, even on the weekends, write out a schedule, and try to stick to it, with flexibility.  Also, if you don't get everything done on your list, forgive yourself, and then just put it on the schedule for the next day!

5.) Allow yourself to be angry, sad, vulnerable, overwhelmed sometimes.  This is a catastrophic situation, even the military called it that on 60 minutes last night, so remember vulnerability is not a show of weakness.  It is a natural response to uncertainty, change, and difficult times.

6.) Stay in touch with friends and relatives, there are so many ways to do it!

7.) Be creative!

8.) Read real books with pages, not on a kindle!!

9.) Remember you are not really alone even though are spending a great deal of time alone.

l0.) Find projects and remember how good it feels when you complete them.

HERE IS THE PICTURE OF ALL THE THINGS I AM GIVING AWAY FROM MY CLOSET.  I FEEL VERY ACCOMPLISHED! AND I FOUND LOTS OF NEW/OLD THINGS TO WEAR IN MY CLOSET!

It is time...

This is the time to be posting every day on my blog!! It has been a long time, but now we are working from home and I have a great deal to share!! Lots of ideas, lots of projects to share, lots of videos!! hope you enjoy this first one, for the first day of the pandemic school online...here is the fifth grade assignment on Stand by Me.

Stand by Me by Ben E. King with lyrics

Stand By Me exemplar for day two of online learning

In No Particular Order...

I have not posted in a while because I have been FLAT OUT!! In no particular order these are the things I have been involved in..

I have worked really hard with my Adult Education Singing Group and we performed four shows of A Christmas Carol.  Ok, so we mostly sang several songs as old fashioned "Carolers" outside the auditorium before the show, and we sang ONE song in the show, "Caroling, Caroling" as carolers from Scrooge's past, but that being said, we had to work hard to do that, and make it sound good.  I was very proud of my students, many of whom are quite shy and it was their first time performing anywhere.  It was a positive experience, and fun was definitely had by all.  The director said, "You are now required to do this every year for the rest of all time!"  We will see about that, but it was surely a great experience and I would love to be involved with it again next year for sure!

I played piano for the chorus concert as well, last week.  That is always a thrill, and the brand new piano in the auditorium is lovely to play and I enjoyed the whole experience.  The students were a little worried I might make some mistakes, but I was happy because any mistakes I made you could hardly hear!  It is always great fun to play for these students, because the conductor is my former student, so I love working with her and helping her with her amazing chorus!

I sang in church for two weekends in a row, solos that are of a holiday nature, and the second weekend we had a wonderful experience running a carol sing with the congregation after church.  We had the organ and the trumpet to accompany us.  The highlight for me was singing with my colleague, the other nice person who sings solo when I am not there, she is an alto, so she and I did a duet of Stille Nacht in German with harmony, that was a lovely moment..we didn't even practice it before hand, we just sang it and it was delightful and right in tune! Pros we are!!

I am now officially done for performances for the holiday season, and am happy to be just teaching and not constantly practicing or preparing people for a performance.  No more of that until January when Willy Wonka Jr begins on the 6th! See you then! Happy Holidays to all!