I open up my marking book. Jayden is doing well in reading, not quite grade level, but with practice, he will do fine, I say.She doesn’t hear me. Her eyes starved of all light. Tells a story. It spools inside me like a memory stuck in park. As she unlocked her doorthat night, the sky... Continue Reading →

I hide in plain sight, foldedinto Europe and El Yunque.I hold all the colorsbeneath this pale carapace.My borders never closed.Tucked into the mainstream,I took advantage of all it had to offer.Watched from a safe distancethe comments about my mother’s race.I was labeled—the lady on the Maja bar of soap,a Chiquita Banana girl.Upon finding out my... Continue Reading →

I think I spot a clot of blood from my kitchenwindow. It movesinside the branches of the forsythia. A malecardinal puffed up, silentjust as winter plans its evacuation. Budsfall off the rhododendron,a small lick of pink remains. Squall linesform in unstable atmosphericconditions. My hands deep in soapywater. Deep in retirement.The sky bleeds gray. A robin... Continue Reading →

We are cups, quietly and constantly being filled. ~Ray BradburyNight kicks in the breaking sunrise as I turn onto BryantAvenue. A brick school unwraps its metal doors for the summer’s unpromotable. Left behind. State exam failed. Children. I’ve memorizedthe number of steps to my school. One hundred-eighty-nine. Seven a.m.I am early. Take out my keys.... Continue Reading →

Jake, night custodian empties the waste basket,asks, tonight? I nod. Alone in my office, I waitto interview for the job. The one I have been doing for the last six months. I am principal, interim-acting.Don’t sweat it. Kick some ass. My husband calls,wishes me good luck at my C-30. Across the sky the moon crawls,... Continue Reading →