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Friday, July 21, 2017

POETRY FRIDAY

Sunset in Denver, Wednesday Night

We start a new school year on Monday. My school is undergoing lots of changes- interim principal, new leadership structures, several new teachers, or teachers in new grade levels- and I'm feeling more than a little anxious about what my role will be. And the neighborhood around my school, which is not far from downtown, is gentrifying rapidly, which means the population I have always served is being pushed out, and people who can afford $800,000 homes (and don't have school-aged children) are moving in. I worry about our enrollment and whether I will even have a job. I'm trying hard to breathe and be still and trust that things will work out the way they are supposed to work out…
Quietness
Inside this new love, die.
Your way begins on the other side.
Become the sky.
Take an axe to the prison wall.
Escape.
Walk out like somebody suddenly born into color.
Do it now.
You’re covered with thick cloud.
Slide out the side.
Die,
and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign
that you’ve died.
Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.
The speechless full moon
comes out now.
– Jelaluddin Rumi
Kari, a middle school language arts teacher from Wisconsin, is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup  at The Logonauts this week. I went over to get the link and found a new poetry book I HAVE to own! BRAVO: POEMS ABOUT AMAZING HISPANICS by Margarita Engle sounds like it would be a perfect addition to my dual language school's library.
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12 comments:

  1. TaraJuly 21, 2017 at 12:36 PM

    Rumi always manages to point the way to truth. I can't believe that school begins for you next week, Carol, mine being more than a month away yet. Fingers crossed for you!

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  2. Linda BJuly 21, 2017 at 1:22 PM

    You start Monday! Wow. I am wishing for you, Carol. The poem is a rage, a good thing needed!

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  3. jan godown anninoJuly 21, 2017 at 1:51 PM

    This does bear re-reading for all the heft.
    Appreciations for sharing.

    And luck to you with this brave new world around the corner at school

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  4. Linda MitchellJuly 21, 2017 at 2:25 PM

    Isn't it simply amazing what poetry does for anxiety? Reading it, writing it, speaking it....is all prescription for us. I have become familiar with Rumi more in the past year + I've spent with Poetry Friday than ever before and I am grateful. The quiet we seek is something we must find with a death of sort.

    I hope that all your fears will be laid to rest as you start school. So many kids will be counting on you. Remember to notice how much they give you too!

    Cheers!

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  5. Jane @ www.raincitylibrarian.caJuly 21, 2017 at 4:45 PM

    Change can just feel so overwhelming at times - we're experiencing similar upheaval here in my city, though $800,00 is considered a steal for a house. :'(

    And what an early start to the school year! I can't imagine trying to focus in a classroom on a sunny July day! But maybe it's nice to be inside a cool classroom?

    Hopefully poetry and mindful breathing can at least help keep your (very understandable!) anxiety manageable.

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  6. KatApel - katswhiskers.wordpress.comJuly 22, 2017 at 3:29 AM

    Sorry to hear that you've got so much anxiety at the start of a new year, Carol. Change can fill us with so much trepidation. I hope it is nothing like you have feared - and full of wonderful moments.

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  7. KayJuly 22, 2017 at 12:20 PM

    Good luck with the upcoming school year. It sounds like lots of changes are in the air. I like the Ruminations poem. It is new to me.

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  8. TabathaJuly 23, 2017 at 2:29 AM

    Rumi is such a wonderful person to turn to. I love "Take an axe to the prison wall./
    Escape." You made me think of "Dropping Keys" by Hafiz: http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/2013/05/2013-summer-poem-swap.html

    Best of luck as you navigate the new year. You have so much to offer -- perhaps if your school changes too much, you will cast your eye to a different, lucky school?

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  9. Mary LeeJuly 23, 2017 at 6:53 AM

    If there ever was a place to "become the sky" it would be Colorado.

    Peace to you, dear friend, on this last weekend before the rush begins again. Remember every day to BREATHE!

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  10. Brenda at FriendlyFairyTalesJuly 23, 2017 at 11:10 PM

    I can't believe it's back-to-school already there. We have till after labor day. Each day of vacation is a gift.

    You are the sky, the blue of summer and the birdsong on the wind. Each teacher is. Hugs on this new beginning.

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  11. Donna SmithJuly 24, 2017 at 3:35 PM

    If we always stuck with what we know, we would not get the better that is to be.

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  12. michelle koganJuly 26, 2017 at 10:44 PM

    What a powerful evocative poem. Sending wishes for smooth sailing on this new journey.

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