
It’s been difficult for me to write lately. So much going on in the world and this crazy country. I’ve been busy this week with retiling a shower in a family home, watching an almost 4-year-old who isn’t potty trained, reading and scoring REALM literary magazines for NCTE, writing a poem a day for the Stafford Challenge. This week the poems are coming from prompts at Ethical ELA. Join in with today’s prompt called “Until I Discovered” with Erica Johnson, and tomorrow there will be a new one by Jessica Shernburn.
1/18/25 Are You Down? with Shaun Ingalls
No Cap
So lore goes,
Always the main character
Jack and his moot Jill,
without cooking,
Finna secure the bag
Of water
Jack’s dogs tripped (bruh)
Bucket yeeted
“I oop”
Jill, not usually an NPC,
This time falls in line,
Gagged, no girl bossing,
Out of pocket
No cap
My translation of “Jack and Jill” into Gen-Z dialect was inspired by Alan J. Wright’s “Jack and Jill” in the style of John Keats here.
1/19/2025 KonMarie with Gayle Sands
I choose to keep
hikes around Abel’s Mountain,
the flickering candle under
this pot of masala chai,
writing one line a day
in my five-year memory book,
crocheting with a backrub
from my husband
and a good movie in front of us,
Spanish with Duolingo and Rocío,
healthy eating to lower my A1C,
my trusty Kindle
and extensive Libby library,
skylight apricity,
the ERA,
Curiosity,
Resilience,
Resistance,
Justice,
and
Mercy.
Time to rid myself of
overflow in the back recesses
of my cupboards,
binge watching poor shows,
throwing my hands up
in surrender to oligarchy.
1/20/2025 How Embarrassing! with Glenda Funk
Mrs. Lifflander was the substitute
everyone hoped we would never get.
She was mean as a snake and unfair.
And if I believe anything then (and now):
Everything has to be fair!
This time we drew the short stick,
and she became our Viola Swamp.
When Mrs. Moscrip came back, she
rebuked us for not respecting the sub.
(I guess Ms. Swamp left notes and names.)
“But she did thus-and-so.” “She was so unfair.”
I raised my hand to tell my side. She stopped me,
“Oh, Denise, I’m sure you had
to add your 2 cents, didn’t you?”
1/21/2025 Until I Discovered with Erica Johnson
It wasn’t until we bounced
back to cling to racism
that I discovered this
low rung of history.
That is not who we are.
Oh, yes, yes, of course, we are.
It’s who we’ve always been,
The arc is slight, if it moves at all.
And now again, complacent,
backward bend of the arc.
Ignominy of this chapter haunts,
and I am future-fearful.
And yet I can choose resistance.
Shine spotlights on racism, sexism,
megalomania and dishonest gain.
Someday we will take another step
toward justice. I may not see it,
but history points to better days
in the future. My grandson will live
anew in a more just world.
1/22/2025 This is the Year with Jessica Sherburn
This is the year that Palestinian
children will play and dance and sing
along the shore of the Mediterranean.
No outsiders will ever consider taking
their coastline for high-rises for themselves.
This is the year when the olive orchards
will return to bloom and produce in abundance
and all the people will be full and healthy
with all their limbs intact and they will
eat Musakhan and celebrate independence.
This is the year when Palestinian borders
will no longer just be a squeezed strip
or a failing bank, but there will be enough
for all. That each nation in this shared space
will not train for war anymore.
This is the year for peace.
Denise,
I don’t need to tell you how much we need writing and writing communities in the coming years. I know you’re tired. I am, too, so we’ll just have to lean on one another. Yesterday I decided I need to read all of MLK’s writings. I want to call out those who bastardize and use him. I was sick to my stomach when I learned the Felon invoked MLK. I’ve loved reading your poems this week. And I want to see that tile job!
This sure does NOT look like the work of a struggling writer. Instead, it looks like the world of poetry allows you to play with words and avoid the stressors of current event “stuff”? Certainly, the real world has been very stressful – lately – and I really appreciate your hope that “history points to better days”….I am counting on that to get me through these hard days.
I love reading all your poems here as they sometimes get lost in the shuffle of Ethical ELA. We are such kindred spirits. I am hopeful for our next generation. My Stella is a force to be reckoned with. She will see justice, if my daughter (her mother) has anything to do with it.
Denise,
So glad you hopped into this space today. I hugged my grandbabies tighter, remembering your Phoebe and knowing that nothing is a given. It seems cliche to say ‘make the most of each day…” After loss, it is so much easier to say than to do. Glad you are doing by writing beautiful poetry. Keep at it.
Denise, the prompts this week have all been so needed and so inspiring. This week of poetry has held a lot of meaning and deep thinking – – I’ve enjoyed reading all of your poems and thinking about where we are in the world. I think every generation has its concerns about the future, but I really think ours are more warranted as we step into our tomorrows.
Denise, you captured your emotions in your poems. May you continue to be the voice that others read and honor. “I am future-fearful.” (Rightly so!) May our grandchildren have a future that brings peace for all into society (Is that too much to wish for?) Thanks for your wonderful poems.
I can’t say thank you enough for the wonderful addition to my world of words with “apricity.” That rare winter warmth that comes from the perfect combination of letters is the gift you’ve given me today.Despite sharing that future-fearful state, I, too, hold out for the righting of our present miasma…for our future-hopefuls.
Denise, I missed some of your poems on Ethical ELA and am delighted to find them here, especially the one about the embarrassing moment with the mean substitute (!!). It’s incredible how condescending adults can be to children. There you were, fighting for fairness at a young age, when your voice was cut off. I celebrate your overcoming many years later, powerful writer-friend! You brought to mind my high school geometry teacher, in whose class I struggled abysmally. She attended a play in which I played a main part and afterward she told me, “I didn’t think you had it in you.” Compliment or insult? Felt like the latter. I ended up transferring out of her class – didn’t need the credit or her lack of belief. Sorry for launching into a story… it’s just testimony to the universality of the human experience shared by writing. Thank you for your voice.