Best Superintendent Poems
Next item up for bid, a rare coin of mine
Is one 1894 s silver Liberty dime
Only 24 of these coins were minted that year
That is, in San Francisco, let me be clear
In case anyone here has a thought to purloin
We have guards and cameras on this valuable coin
It's merely speculation why so few were minted
The fact is, that's all, they permitted
The superintendent gave most to banker friends
But three were given to his daughter to spend
She spent one on ice cream, the other two she saved
After that,there whereabouts weren't written on page
The chances of you seeing another one like this
Couldn't be calculated on one hundred abacuses
This perfect coin is the best ever seen
And the last one that sold went for two million green
If you've deep pockets, want to impress your friends
My rare silver dime must surely make you grin
For two million I'd say, "Going once" at that price
But now 2.5 million I'd say, "Going twice"
Anything over that I would gladly let it go
Pay three million right now and I'll holler, "SOLD"
By Daniel Turner
Know you are the absolute best,
The new kid has given a test.
You stayed calm cool, and collected,
So completely unaffected,
His childish behavior a test
We are watching you here at the school
Your resistance makes some of us drool.
He is almost on our last nerve,
Taking some around the last curve,
Yet, your calmness surrounds like a pool.
We implore you to please teach us your way,
It seems he is here and going to stay,
I think it is totally true,
Because his mother is new too,
His mother, superintendent, Miss Kay.
The eraser belonged to me; it was saved by my mother and returned along with many other
childhood items when I became middle aged. I was curious as to why she would save a
stubby old eraser from the primary grades, so she reminded me of its’ one and only use. My
faded memory of that time suddenly became crystal clear, as my mother recounted for me a
watershed episode from my formative years.
I had, as they say these days “acted out in school once again,” this time by writing
unspeakable words in a textbook. Without any hesitation or forethought, I chose as my
repository the teachers’ edition of our English composition book. Quite frankly, at the time, I
thought they were literary gems worthy of publication. That’s why I knowingly inscribed them
there for all to see. Upon further review by more knowledgeable minds, it was determined
corrective guidance and a phone call home was in order.
I was to spend several hours after school that day sweating in contemplative silence as I
erased the teachers’ edition and many other similarly defaced books. It was during this time
of reflection that I ground that eraser down to the stub as it remains today. The last visible
vestiges of my bad expositions disappeared forever that hot afternoon, along with more than
half of the eraser.
Mother then reminded me of what she overheard the Superintendent tell me, as she sat
mortally ashamed and waiting for hours in the hallway outside that sweltering classroom. I
can still visualize her ample adult size, trying in vain to get comfortable, in a sticky one
armed desk made for a 5th grader.
“ John, I want you to try and remember this:
WHAT YOU SAY to others might last with them until THEY DIE.
But regretful WORDS YOU WRITE, the residue of which, will last long after YOU DIE.
So you keep what’s left of this eraser and I hope you never need to use it again.”
*For the "Rub it out" contest, i still have the eraser.
Dream Keys
by Odin Roark
A NY mantra
Rent the rentable
Move the movable
Key the keyable
Apartments
Four-wall-guardian of yesterday’s youth
Vacuous cellmates of old age loneliness
All part of a cyclic maze
All having a key
Urban life’s Rubik’s Cube turnover
Today’s the day
“Two rooms”
“New paint”
“Clean window”
“No-squeaky floorboards”
Superintendent loves to present
Move in
Keys
Entrance door
Mailbox
Apartment
Laundry room
All yours
A windowsill vase of plastic roses
Your welcome of faded memories
The window to the people below
Your traveled city as roommate
Through another glass darkly
Gotta love it
Pea green layering
Over cracked and peeling bygones
Your very own chipped-paint scrapbook
A giant shoebox of ghostly images
Once possessing your castle-keys
Settle in
Struggle
Dream
Survive
Stand at your window
Watch canyon updrafts
Swirl your make-believe snowflakes
Carrying them skyward
Mixing with sparkling darkness
Where every star is yours
Count the days
Where light to see
Will be owned by neighboring towers
Where former tenants came young
Left old
Where thrown cups and china
Christened walls
And confinement’s anger and tears
Found solace in an ever inviting empty bathtub
Where pounding fists
Rattled bathroom door hinges
While a child hid beneath a bed
Smiling tearful thanks
A wanderlust roach
His ever-faithful friend
All yours
Here
Where a Sammy Glick got started
And an undergrad
An engineer
A Radical leftist
A piano teacher
All touched
All turned
All once secured your keys
So
Add your imprint
Become tomorrow’s remembered page
The scrapbook knows no end
This is Manhattan
Scenes will erupt
Hysterics will rebirth
Life will live
Maybe live some more
Then
Your turn to pass the keys
Your turn to pile worn memories at the curb
Mattresses always appreciated
Stand across the street
Watch the ever-smiling Super
Hand the keys to the next habitant
And then…
Go
Never to forget your contribution
Leaving behind another preparatory memory
Allowing the coming year
Your next season of imaginings
To dream of another home
Somewhere
Waiting…
Gifted with keyless entry?
Loneliness gone?
The “Saga” of the Lonely Cactus
by Miriam McCue
Introduction:
:
Characters in order of appearance:
Lonely Cactus: He is a 6 foot Saguaro cactus with two arms (kind that looks like a man from
a distance.) (In real life these cacti have to be around 75 years old to get an arm.)
Kieran - My granddaughter
Aunt Mikey - My youngest daughter
Alphabet City - Part of the Lower East Side of NYC
Desert - This refers to desert surrounding Phoenix AZ
Manhattan - Name for the island of NYC, not including Brooklyn, Queens, etc.
Super - Nickname for the superintendent of a tenement or apartment building.
Assorted city street characters - Anonymous
Greenwich Village - West of the Lower East Side NYC
Lower East Side - Part of NYC ( name of it describes where it is)
Alphabet City - Part of the Lower East Side of NYC
Assorted city street characters - Anonymous
Central Park - Large man-made park in Center of NYC
Big Apple - Nickname for NYC
U.P.S - A delivery service (In poem pronounced by letters, no as “up sss” )
Casino - We all know what that is.
Donald Trump - Famous prominent business man
He rode in to Santa Fe one summer day on a broken-down, sweaty nag.
All he owned was the clothes on his back and the Bible in his saddle bag.
He wore a suit of black, an old slouch hat, both so dusty and frayed.
He was an itinerant preacher man by the name of Jeremiah Slade.
Beneath his well-worn duds he wore a brace of pistols on his hips,
With the 'sinners' in towns he occasionally enjoyed a couple-a nips!
His District Superintendent took a very dim view of his associations,
Warnin' that it might lead him into very injudicious temptations!
He dismounted, hitched his hoss and brushed the dust from his suit,
And strolled to Clancy's Saloon, well-known as a house of ill-repute!
He sauntered up to the bar and pointed to a jug of whiskey on the shelf,
Sayin', "Bartend, hand me that bottle. I'll pour three-fingers fer myself!"
He leaned with his back to the bar surveyin' the riotous scene before him.
The debauchery he viewed indicated reapin' souls looked mighty grim,
But he drawed his guns and hammered the butts on the bar fer attention!
"By Gawd!" he thundered, "I intend to clean up this place is my intention!"
With that the dancin', brawlin' and gamblin' came to an abrupt cease!
"Now, I want y'all to find Jesus and give each other the kiss of peace!"
Forty-two souls searched and found Him that day in Clancy's Saloon!
He praised the Lord, sayin', "That's a purty good haul and it ain't even noon!"
The new saints were shoutin' "Hallelujah!" and he roared, "Now hold on there!
I remind y'all I don't preach fer nothin' and if'n y'all would care to share,
I'll pass the hat and as Jesus said, ''Tis better to give than to receive!"
He gave some to the bartend, sayin' "Set 'em up!" With that he took his leave!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(c) All Rights Reserved
"Super credence...!"
Coming from the west,
Known by many;very popular and people's figure,
Qualified with soft speech,modified with prominent smile,
Dressed with simplicity,but very focal,
The complexion is matched to brilliance,
Lifted up in air was the nose;catching public attention,
Perfumed with premium lavender diffused from the skin into clothing,
"Preemptively ushered",someone said,
Fashioned with tanned pelt around the bust,...kente from the waist,covering to the knees,
Beads and cowries all over the neck,...as well as ears,arms and feets,
Head covered with scuff,
Carrying a pot of water,
Traditionally attributed to firmness and greatness,
Moulded with superintendent qualities;staunch and wisely modulated,
Possess melodious voice;Seductively enriched,
A marital object for procreation and generational changing,
Talented to dance,subbed to singing,
Colourful in appearance,
Useful creature among equals,
Warrior for true love,...even though life is full of irony,
Taste her food,and come for more,
Culturally valued and highlighted,
"Where does she come from?",
Goddesses over waters applauds her magnificence,
Monumentally, she is the mother of world actors and heroines,
Spreader of democracy and patience;Incomparably agitated,
"Tell me...who's this proficient person?",
That is the legend of years;an indigenous superstar,
Proudly known as,"MAMA AFRICA",
"The jewelry everyone is digging for".
I’ve been working since I was twelve years old,
But my first on-the-books job
Was as a sailor in the US Navy,
Gunners Mate.
Six years and three Westpac deployments.
Fifty months of sea duty
Changed me for good and bad.
Over the years since,
I’ve had many terms of employment,
Both full and part-time.
My part-time jobs have included
Hanging wallpaper and painting houses.
Building stockade style fences.
Landscaping and more landscaping.
Cleaning commercial kitchen exhaust hoods.
I’ve been a receptionist at yoga studios,
A registered yoga instructor,
A certified personal trainer,
A high school cross country,
Wrestling, and track & field coach.
I’ve been a substitute teacher
At every grade level, K-12.
I’ve also been a supervisor of
Student teachers earning their
Master’s degrees in education.
Most recently, I work as a museum docent.
My full-time jobs have included
Bartender in a low-life country dive.
(Yes, I drank on the job.)
Laborer in a garment factory,
(Yes, I drank on the job.)
A refrigerated trailer factory,
(Yes, I drank on the job.)
And a lamp factory.
(It was too hot to drink anything but water on the job.)
I’ve engraved gift items in a mall kiosk.
Yes, I drank on the job.
I’ve worked at a day camp for disabled adults
And was a resident advisor in a facility
For profoundly disabled adults.
I’ve been a public-school custodian,
And a teacher of high school history and sociology,
My longest tenure at any job, by far.
My final full-time job
Was as a maintenance superintendent
In a seventy-building garden apartment complex.
I’ve also been a writer of fiction
Who draws from experience
Attempting to fashion a plausible tale.
A student walks out of class in sixth grade.
There are no consequences, lots of understanding.
Empathy galore.
There is no apology to teacher or the class.
Second student walks out.
Same scenario.
Third and fourth students walk out together.
No consequences.
They get to eat lunch with the superintendent.
Everyone tries to understand them.
This was week two of school.
By the end of the first semester half the class is walking out daily.
We have no idea why.
A dear friend says I'm brave to go it solo in the city…
she has a husband - seven kids - two dogs - and a neurotic cat
yet she dubs me brave!
I'm not brave, I'm transparent amidst glass and steel…
night lights the tower windows - eyes watching, winking
lobby doors gobble people only to spit them out again.
At a sidewalk café I'm the superintendent of this concrete esplanade…
watching women in heels, men in suits (some in heels)
poop scooping dog owners - who's the bulldog here?
In sublime heat, under threatening sky, a dry Chardonnay wets my lips…
the paved people mover hosts a carnival of characters
rushing to their next scene - to the burbs' trimmed lawns
where wifey waits, hoping the train's on time,
that the roast isn't dry - that he's in a good mood
hubby, stopping in for a spirited lift, is in the mood for pasta.
Puffy-cheeked clouds let out a thunderous roar…
howling gusts of wind send spittle in sideways sheets
inverted umbrellas rage their angry teeth skyward
drenching the women's trendy doos while dogs pull masters to shelter
waiters scurry to tie down awnings against swirling winds
must keep the patrons dry!
As the subsiding torrent sends steam rising from hot pavement
my reasons for choosing the city are clear…
inhaling the energy of these brume ensconced streets
cast in this impromptu street opera
playing my part in the faceless crowd
braving the amusing summer storms.
6/11/2013
Always on a razor’s edge
In the loony cage
Now opening this window
Now closing that
Now busy at this arrow
Now tackling the aching marrow
For the sweet bones moves the cat
The wolf seeks to shift
From old veins to a fresh rainbow
Comes up the superintendent
(As the psychoanalyst says)
The disguise is recognizable
The fruit of social venoms is terrible
Dusk or dawn
The train therefore pulls on
With the chores floors sores roars galore
Profound rubbish
Calling for the female cannabis
Kisses without kinesis
Daily travesty of compulsive synthesis
No beak and obviously no peaks
Same old debris and I can take it no more
It’s bloody hell
Better to regress to the cat
In an empty flat
__________________________________________________________
May 31, 2016
For Desperate Housewife – Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Poet Destroyer A
Cynthia Kwiecinski and Suzanne Colby
You've broken every rule of civility
With the execrable decision you made recently
You withdrew a job offer from a school superintendent
for addressing you as 'Ladies' in an acceptance email
You claim the term constitutes a micro-aggression'
But it's you abominations who have disgraced your profession
The superintendent-to-be meant to compliment you
But you two sows couldn't see that for the cud that you chew
I have much more to say, but come what may ~
You deserve to chew CRUD for the rest of your days
_________________________________________________________
Check out Fox News, April 03, 2023, 'School Superintendent candidate
says job offer was rescinded...' Story by Yael Halon
My principal is one
Of the best four principals
I have ever met, told me she
Saw her budget, and the counselor
For her school (our school if you include me)
Gets a counselor for 4 days next year, not 5.
Which means, if I am the counselor, I would
Have to be in another school one day a week
Next year. Ugh! Some of the schools are pretty
Awful. I’m such a powder puff, I’d be running out
With crying eyes by 8:15 in some of these schools,
And they don’t even start until 9.
My Principal (M.P. for short)
M.P. spoke with the second only to the TOP
The Big Top- the Superintendent himself,
And she said that they need me here
Next year, and it has to be 5 days
A week, because I mean this much
To her and our school.
I am so grateful! And optimistic
because the counselors often
do not know what school
They get until Saturday night at 9
The week before school starts.
Yes i am the only one, who make love from hate,
Don't look suspiciously, you heard me accurate,
Take all your hate together, put into a crate,
I'll give you half kg love for per kg of weight,
No its not costly, its very cheap,
As i have to sow then i reap,
A seed of love in heart of hate,
I till the anger & irrigate,
I guard them from birds of contempt,
Holding gun of kindness,
Standing amid my chaff superintendent,
Yes you mortal, you got me right,
I am that immortal tyke,
Sleeping on bed of grime,
From an eternal time,
For some i am holy Quran,
For some Bible & Gita-Sar,
But i teach only love,
In each & every avatar,
You never embraced me in arms,
Nor you ever praised my charm,
I am the only truth,
Everything else's a sham,
I'll make your soul, pure & pious,
Guide you to a decision, free from bias,
Follow me to that portal, the peace's abode,
Only love resides, no place for loathe.
Where human loves human,
All are one under one sun.
Being faithful to the biggest lies,
spoiled by delusions and corrupted ties.
Shallow shared psychosis belief,
highly specialist identity thief.
Psychiatric syndrome media charm,
everybody has to have it with no harm.
Puppeteers providing the mediocre script,
rewarding richly those who become the perfect fit.
Maintaining depressing news to fit he bill,
keeping suspiciousness as highlights frill.
Paranoia or grandiose delusion,
issues of inferior intrusion.
Never been thought to think independent,
always needing a superintendent.
Democratic values without sense,
then all of them cannot be so dense.
Symbolized images by false statistic,
corrupted marketing to be disruptive.
Worshipping famous pretenses values,
resignation by deeds greatest news.
Implanted mentality for a title,
fear controlled genocidal.
Ignorance the only evil that exist,
the power in charge for the better insist.
Deluded facts in command,
deceived in youth conscious disband.
The act has been defined,
doubting is the criminal intent.
Those whom their individuality fails,
seek refuge in community bails.
The manipulated guilty conscience,
robs the will of power audacious.
One virtue can stand against a thousand vices,
not needing any hypertension phrases.