NaPoWriMo Number Thirteen

I haven't forgotten about ten and eleven. They're just stewing.

She gave him that first whispered brush
a backwards rub against should be
when he discovered in base coarse she
didn’t have a magic ingredient
she couldn’t stir pudding into an elixir
and animation won’t wake the dead
and intermittent love can lead to death
and permanence shouldn’t exist at least not
in a sonic wave
He thought if he closed his ears he would
escape from everything she said and
if he couldn’t hear then her waves would
dissipate and fly away and their news might
maybe somehow should be transformed
to couldn’t be and no, baby
don’t worry it isn’t true
you were asleep and
bad things are just bad dreams and death is
just another monster
under the bed

NaPoWriMo Number Twelve

I've missed the last two days of the 30/30 challenge. I plan on making up those two missing links within the next two days, but this poem for day number twelve is day number twelve from the moment the alarm went off this morning. I'm hoping it acts as something cathartic that turns this day around, but who knows. Best to all who read this, and raise a glass to worlds of small things.

Today is a world of small things

                of perpetual first steps on the wrong side of the bed

                of lost jackets and sleep

                of too many deadlines and not enough time

                of everyone’s clock running five minutes faster than mine

Today I am

                two left feet that can’t agree

                ten supposable thumbs hitchhiking in ten different directions

                not enough caffeine mixed with too much anxiety

                left eye blinded blurry with dry

Today I have

                forgotten to eat

                forgotten eye drops that make the dry go away

                forgotten headphones that block out today

                forgotten what I forgot but remembered it was important

                anyway                BUT

Today I am not worried

about the meteor that might be soaring in our direction

about the national debt

about social security when I’m old enough to claim it

about  armageddons, apocalypses, the end of time or whatever you chose to name it

Today is a world of small things

NaPoWriMo Number Nine

Number nine is not really a poem, instead a simple statement.
The state of Hawai`i has been steadily dismantling our public school education from primary to post-graduate levels for decades.
Furlough Fridays are the last straw in a long line of steps that include,
but are not limited to
inadequate staffing for teachers,
deteriorating class rooms,
diverted funding,
stifling and ridiculous regulations,
and curriculum cutbacks.
I can't figure out if these actions are taken with deliberation or due to incompetence.
Does it matter?
Hawai`i has some of the most passionate and gifted educators and students in the world.
This state government appears to be dedicated
to a cult of mediocrity
that discourages creativity, ridicules critical thinking, and punishes excellence.

To anyone within earshot or reading distance,
whether you live in Hawai`i
or not,
please let this government know we are tired
of their mediocrity,
and that it is NOT
acceptable to deny our youth
access
to an excellent PUBLIC education.

NaPoWriMo Number Eight

NaPoWriMo Number Seven

NaPoWriMo Number Six

NaPoWriMo Number Five