This is Day 70 in Bahrain’s battle with the Coronavirus. We have gone from worried, yet energized, to bored and helpless, but always hanging on to hope.
The March Slice of Life on TwoWritingTeachers.org and April Ethical ELA #verselove poetry challenge sustained me and kept me focused during those first two months of quarantine.
In May, I am giving myself some new challenges:
- Finish my and my students’ project that was started in February–120 Al Raja School Stories. We interviewed and wrote stories about retired and present employees, students and alumni of our school. To finish off the 120 stories, they each wrote a story about themselves. So, now I have to do final editing touches.
- Write in my notebook–observations, poems, recipes, whatever. I would like to figure out how to use a notebook in a way that’s helpful to me as a writer. Usually I can’t find what I’m looking for when I want it. Does anyone have any writer’s notebook posts they have written to share your wisdom?
- Remember to post a Slice of Life each Tuesday.
Here is a Magic 9 poem I wrote this week. It was an interesting and new-for-me poetry form, with a play on the magic word–abracadabra. It uses a rhyme scheme of a-b-a-c-a-d-a-b-a, with nine lines and no other rules.
There is no magic in my poem, though. It is hard work needed to dismantle the white supremacy we have repeated ad nauseam since our country was colonized. Maybe our condemnation is that white people remember the past very well and work too hard to repeat it, clinging to their ill-gotten power.
Remember the Past
Quarantine poems giving me life,
Peace, hope and a place to dump
My sadness, brokenness and strife
Composing with #verselove
Gave me a boost, poetry rife
With hugs from teacher friends.
We must look back–opposite of Lot’s wife–
So we stop repeating the plague of trump.
We need surgery from a truthful scalpel knife.
Your thoughts on history reminded me that just about every encounter the USA documents with people of color is about loss, tragedy and horror. Whereas, the stories told by the victors shape the present day in the way that you describe–to perpetuate the power structure. Yet, to tell the stories of triumph outside of textbook US History means power disruption. Keeping people under-educated means under-represented as well. As a person of color, US History classes would often be cringe-y for me. Traveling abroad shifts the narrative and power structure. Stories / words are truly “mightier than the sword.”
Jackie, thank you for your thoughts. So true. There is so much history that I have learned as an adult from authors like Carol Anderson and Bryan Stevenson. We definitely need more persons of color becoming teachers to educate all of us white people.
I’ve never written a Magic 9 poem. Definitely adding this one to my agenda. Are you in the #100daysofnotebooking group on FB? I joined and completed the 100 days, but the group has continued and may offer some pointers.
I’ve been thinking a lot about traditions and the ways we get bogged down in them, refusing to change because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” Your reflections on learning about history and comments about Trump remind me we need change. Maybe the generation of young people who have been forced to change in such drastic ways will lead the way.
Thank you, Glenda. Yes, I am part of the 100 Days of Notebooking group, but I need to get back there and listen! I’m not very active on Facebook any more, but I do enjoy that group. Thanks for reminding me. Yes, I believe the young people will help make a more perfect union.
I am soaking up Jackie’s comment. I have been so ANGRY the past four years, and more and more so these days. Thank you for sharing your MonTueWed, Denise! I get comfort reading your posts.
Thank you, Joy. We are going to have to keep figuring out how to turn that anger into action, aren’t we? Thank you for reading. See you next Tuesday!