Dora Maar with Green Fingernails
In Elementary school
I was not good at shapes at drawings
When I look at the Dora Maar with
green fingernails
I look at my own fingernails
with green smeared all over
my hands
I was a fool
painting all over my fingers, and then there are my drawings
Convincing people that Picasso is one of the greatest artists is a myth
green fingernails
Misproportioned – moreover
It’s bland.
It seem to have started when she was a kid
She never could do what the other students did
They seen her as strange while teachers seen who she was
No one was able understand the unique things that she does
She always had struggled with the person she was on the inside
Relationships formed with others always seemed to collide
There was always this search or mission to find the right one
Friendships never last but always stopped where they begun
This lost girl eventually grew into a lost adult
Losing life's trophy doing what she was taught
Put others first and put yourself in second place
Each time she tried, things blew up in her face
For years she has wondered where she belongs
Through each friendship her pain just prolongs
She thought about shutting out the world to remain alone
Thinking she would see better days now that's she's grown
She's been lost for some time now seeking social improvements
Instead of a lifelong friend she receives emotional punishments
As the yellow-orange sun slowly rises
Memories of your class's fun flood my heart
Thoughts run to your teaching and enterprises
You brought those tiny guppies to our class
A creative shiny diorama's great art
Sunshiny person and dedicated lass
You lifted us up when you said
All the gifted books available we'd outsmart
Sad you to your death drifted from your sickbed
There are now nooks and crannies in elementary school classrooms.
Places for children to slither and slide into
When they need a break
When they despise multiplication facts
When they are tired of reading
When I was a child I would have spent all day in one of these crannies
Ignoring the teacher as hard as I could
Wind..dances in the trees
Egos,doing as they please
Wind..brings clouds of rain
Tomorrows,oftimes filled with pain
Wind..sounds deep in the night
Sorry,may not make it right
Wind..elements moving unseen
Attraction,love's go-between
How so lovely to meet him
Elementary school teacher
Same so lovely smile on his nice face
Saino type of poem. It is not in Poetrysoup list of poems forms, so I selected "I do not know".
And so the problems, they surmount,
And why is infinity so hard to count?
It’s always because infinity has no end.
It’s quite Elementary my friend!
Still, I wonder why this can’t be,
A bird can talk why can’t fish in the sea?
Imagine all the bubbles they’d send.
It’s quite Elementary my friend!
Well how do I move my hybrid car,
When we suffer blackouts near and far?
Having battery and fuel tank is the trend.
It’s quite Elementary my friend!
How do you answer each problem of mine,
Making it sound so simple and fine?
My knowledge I am very happy to expend.
It’s quite Elementary my friend!
The teeny weeny arachnid
crawled up my dingy wall.
Little did he know
this would turn into a brawl.
Then I grabbed a shoe
held it high above my head.
And the teeny weeny arachnid
is now officially dead.
*Nearly two years ago, on April 2, 2021, I decided to try ’30 days of poetry.’ This was day two and the prompt was: Read a nursery rhyme poem and make it your own. I was inspired by “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and decided to change the words to this childhood classic and make it a fractured nursery rhyme.
Kindergarten Teacher
Kind when she shares her bologna sandwich.
Imaginative when she has to use Q-tips to teach.
Nurturing to teeter totter injuries.
Daring when rescuing an mystery object from the toilet.
Earnest when explaining this adventure to her principal.
Responsible for helping 23 children put on 23 coats and getting all 23
to the bus on time.
Gentle when covering boo-boos with impossible to open bandaids.
Aimiable when greeting parents.
Resourceful when finding uses for 75 popsicle sticks.
Tactful when explaining Timothy's new permanent marker freckles to
his mother.
Energetic when chasing a dog off the playground.
Nose blowing expert.
Talented when using a pipe cleaner to replace a lost shoe lace.
Elated with a new set of blocks.
Afraid of itchy heads.
Capable of jumping rope in heels on the playground.
High spirited when there is a snow day.
Excited about caterpillars.
Ready for nap time!
I
the mind returns to things
although the major focus is loved ones
LOST
valued then and now
yet lost, somehow
II
my first book of poetry
written before seventeen
Lost when my sister sold our home
I was lost in America
being FOUND by Jesus among Christ-followers
I value more
II
the mind, if not disciplined in loving care,
will return from people to things gone
My acrylic paintings, shown at a Maryland school (Greencastle)
All the African art, including Xhabbo! - taken
captive? Someone was captivated
I long for those African art because I did just those two
LORD may yet give me access to art supplies
And if He wills, my penchant for folly and vanity in art and poetry
will RETURN
good
“After one-hundred, which number comes next?”
inquired Ms. Colvin as she studied her text.
All of us kids raised our hands high,
then Ms. Colvin picked Brett, this one dumb guy.
“Two-hundred,” he said with complete confidence.
“Geez,” I thought, “he sure is dense.”
So I sat up straight
and I felt really great
’cause the answer, I knew,
was one-hundred and two.
a decade ago, I picked up water colors and acrylics
O the exuberance of being a first-time artist
Who, in myriad poverty of apartheid, scorned art
As the purview of those living in luxury
Yet I was spending five hours on painting crosses with doves
Celebrating Jesus and the Holy Spirit
Then too, in 2012, my heart and art suffered loss
As substitute teacher for a week, Montgomery County
Maryland (School district, at Greencastle school)*$*
I took my newest African themed art, and my Lilacs
At week's end, I rushed off with many items to car
Forgot my precious art (one titled Xhabbo, "Bushman")
The regular teacher knew nothing of the African pieces
Only my lilacs and odd floral efforts were returned
I hope I can both forgive and forget; travel has cost
Art and some precious belongings abandoned or lost
NOTE *$*
The young students enjoyed the sharing of art; they were truly inspired and it does make up for the loss in some ways. Future artists got new topics. Shalom, shalom. Deo (Dec 1st, 2021)
1st Grade With Miss Harvison at Thatcher Elementary
David Walker
I
Miss Harvison’s smile greeted each taker of
An assigned seat of big kids desks
in our very first First Grade class
at Thatcher Elementary
It was early in September after a
Long summer and a
Successful year of half-day kindergarten
The beginning of numbered grades
All in a row
12 years was my first glimpse of forever
II
Miss Harvison was no taller than the
Tallest boys among us
And I was proudly one among them
Gray hair and pale blue eyes
Thin with the skin of an aging angel
She made learning fun
She made us want to come
For another chapter of Dick & Jane
And adding numbers
III
Miss Harvison never married
But by 1960 knew 50 years of children
She was 25 when she first arrived
And had her first 30 in a
Baptism of fire
She knew everyone
by name and by heart
It was the start of a life-long
love affair with teaching and learning
IV
Miss Harvison has always lived in the
Memories of a thousand and a half
Half-pints seated in neat rows
The children who became her students
Her treasures
Her measures of a meaningful life
There was a miller named Miller
Who tied his wife to a pillar
He said, "Cheerio"
A clue that would show
He was a cereal killer
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
by
JOHN M. ARROBAS
I can’t teach you the piano, nor the violin
But some thoughts on life, now to begin
There will be snares and tempts along the way
You may not recognize them, as you are the prey
Who is the most dangerous to your well being
Look in the mirror, its him you’ll be seeing
It’s long been said, every coin has two sides
Within you is where your champion resides
Full measure of thought fore any action required
To attain the results that are ultimately desired
Mindless activities come with unwanted pain
Logically applied ideas will result in a gain
Chose your acquaintances with great care
So when things get tough, they’ll be there
Works both ways, you are to be a friend indeed
When friends and loved ones; in pressing need
Be generous to those souls that cross your path
That are unable to escape life’s brutal wrath
But most importantly, always be true to thyself
Content with who you are is the true meaning of wealth
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