Forty nine years of
Reproductive rights that now
Are more than threatened
Likely will be gone
But it won’t stop pregnancies
Or men from pleasure
The repeal of Roe
Will only stop women from
Opportunity
From advancing
That’s what conservatives want…
Women without rights.
Sometimes it’s so hard
To keep fighting for your “dreams”
And, as I get old
It’s, increasingly
More difficult, yet urgent
To feel accomplished
Please don’t get me wrong
I am very privileged
I understand that
But, I also feel
That I always come up short
Destined to only
Stand just to the side
While others take the spotlight
It’s…disheartening.
Twelve of twenty-five
Students absent in my class
It’s not a mask thing
They all have COVID
It’s spreading so quickly that
I see in real time
The sickness take hold
And worsen over the day
The worst part of this
Is that so many don’t care
But kids are suffering
You may not know this.
But…in 1931,
The US started
Deporting citizens.
American citizens
Were rounded up and shipped out
It seems crazy right?
I’m talking about
People of Hispanic descent
Most had been born here
Why did this happen?
I’m so very glad you asked
The reason is bad…
The Great Depression happened
The US decided
To stop caring for citizens
Of certain origin
History matters.
Those who want to hide history
Want to make damn sure
It’s repeatable.
Don’t fall for the rhetoric
Teach real history.
You know what’s wild?
When a lack of mitigation
Leads to a case rise.
It’s almost as though
We could have seen it coming
Oh wait…we did see.
Instead choosing to do nothing
And now cases rise.
One quarter absent
Yesterday at my school
What do I do with that?
Teachers are so so tired
Because…we told you so.
It’s becoming clear
That the teaching profession
Is in some trouble
Put very simply
There are not enough teachers
To man the classrooms
Conservatives say
This is a teacher problem
That “we” are too “soft”
This is not the case
The profession of teaching
Is treated poorly
Teachers have low pay
Combined with high education
Our hours are long
Our work is not just hard
It can also be dangerous
Not only covid
But we have angry students
We have poor buildings
On top of threats of shootings
And high expectations
We are not babysitters
We are professionals with
Very high expertise
And we are also
Often treated like shit from admin
And the public.
It’s not hard to see
Why teachers are leaving quick
With none in the wings.
So, don’t act as though
You’re suddenly surprised when
Your kids’ teacher quits.
Starting a new year
May lead some to nervousness
What was left behind?
Where are we going?
Are we doing enough stuff?
Or not enough stuff?
Let me remind you
Time is merely a construct
For our human brains
You are right here, now
Leave behind what you want to
Manifest new things
But you are not late
And you are not too early
You simply are here.
Omicron rages
While the CDC changes
All of the safeguards.
Meanwhile changes
Encompass our burning world
Earth is changing too
I don’t want to
Bring heavy tidings to you
Or…maybe I do.
In only one year
Democracy has been rocked
Temperatures rise.
Animals have died
Floods and Tornados have killed
And disease has reigned.
So what do we do?
When faced with this brave new world?
Well…maybe not brave.
I, for one, am scared.
But, despite all of my fear
I won’t become blind.
The way states treat kids is reflective of the shits they give.
As Covid rages
Look to how states treated schools
No masks for the kids?
No testing in place?
The government doesn’t care
About the children
Which also will mean
That they won’t care about you
When you need their help
The stockings were hung
And presents were wrapped days past
For blended Christmas
For divorced parents
And their kids for that matter
Christmas is flowing
Could be 25th
But usually it’s another
Always with family
Hipstory 