Summer Triptych

 

Summer Triptych – For the Teachers

I.

Freedom is the classroom door closed and locked.

Shelves are covered with craft paper,

desk drawers are perhaps organized

or else abandoned in clutter.

It can all

wait.

II.

A black swallowtail dips

to the dill

time shifts

from calendar and clock

to caterpillar and bloom.

III.

Chicory appears

along roadsides and railroads:

blue brackets 

that begin and end

this season of necessary

loosening.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2026

Retirement

 

.

This poem is a decima. The rhyme scheme is ABBAACCDDC, and there are 8 syllables each line.

Quiet Waters

 

photo via Unsplash

QUIET WATERS

In that last year, I circled the lake,
investigating every cove along the shore
until I discovered the outfall --
a small stream that would carry me away,
silently slipping into quiet waters
where a single paddle stroke would do,
where simply floating for an entire morning
would be an acceptable option.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

Passing the Torch

Passing the Torch

I shake the flame out of my matchstick;

(one flame dies so another can grow)

cup my hand around the candle’s burning wick.

Nothing about this process is quick.

(light one, expect others to follow)

Again, I shake the flame out of my matchstick,

discard it with a flick,

(travel light, shed unnecessary cargo)

cup my trembling hand around the candle’s wick

and listen to the clock tick-tick-tick.

(there’s no stopping time, I know, I know)

I shake and the flame goes out of my matchstick.

This is no magician’s trick --

(it’s a hard pill to swallow)

the cup of hand around the candle’s burning wick

is merely the arithmetic

of love caught and held in a minute glow.

And so I shake the flame out of my matchstick; 

cup my hand around the candle’s burning wick.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

Choices

 

we teach the wrong things:

task completion, not passion

test taking, not joy

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

We've got seven weeks left, and I'm focusing as much as possible on passion and joy. Our newest fun: about 1/4 of the class is learning a new language using the DuoLingo app. 

Remote Teaching

 

photo via Unsplash

Each day

I thread the needle of my heart

and stitch together

my quilt-square students

into a tapestry

of joy

and learning.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

Silence

 

image via Unsplash

Your silence will not protect you. -- Audre Lorde

Talking openly with your

students about race is necessary. Silence

is fear, and fear will

keep you frozen. You will not

grow without risk, and neither will they. You can't protect

them from hard truths, so invite them to explore and learn along with you.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021 (draft)

Contact Tracing

Contact Tracing

shy handshake
pat on the back
ponytail tug
hand-over-hand cursive
fist bump
high five
side hug

wave goodbye through the window of the bus
wave hello through the computer screen

contact secure
heart to heart


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

Now, More Than Ever

Now, More Than Ever

Breathe
in hope,
then exhale
your gratitude.
Remember these truths:
students over standards,
patience over procedures,
compassion over compliance,
care over content, and grace over
gimmicks. We must humanize our teaching.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020


This poem is an etheree.  It is also a found poem, comprised of bits of a post I read on the Nextdoor app, and this tweet by Shana V. White:

Unbounded

unbounded by walls

my classroom fits on my lap

hello front porch

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020

New Beginnings

Unsplash photo via Yann Allegre

New Beginnings

The water is cold. Give yourself the grace
to flounder until you find your flow.

Do your best. It's not a race.
The water is cold. Give yourself the grace
to choose your own rhythm, your own pace.
There is no right or wrong tempo.

The water is cold. Give yourself the grace
to flounder until you find your flow.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020



This poem is a triolet. The rhyme scheme is ABaAabAB.

AFTER A DAY-LONG MARATHON OF GRADING

procrastination 

sooner or later you pay 

in this case...today 

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Haiku-ish

Photo via Unsplash

avocado toast

(practice mindfulness)

four days until winter break

(sipping my hot tea)

new student today

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

And for the other side of the story, this beautiful response haiku by Amy LV:

Honey Nut Cheerios

 (a little scared) 

four days until winter break 

(drinking orange juice) 

will my new teacher be kind?

©Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, 2018

To-Do List

Unsplash photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters

only five days left --

hiding from her to-do list

curled up with a book

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

Teacher

oldest teacher

in spite of her greying hair

you'd never guess

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

There's a Bottom Below

For the next half of National Poetry Month 2017, 

Malvina will Sing It, and I'll write a poem in response.

Children's songs, songs about current events, the environment, politics, and gender inequity -- I've gotten to know Malvina Reynolds, but today's song makes me laugh. It's as though Malvina Reynolds has gotten to know ME! Add blues to her list of musical genres. My version of this song doesn't match her rhythm well enough to be sung, and I certainly could have written a more sobering and depressing version about my March, but I couldn't resist capturing a snapshot of the past couple of days.





The Fifth Grade in May Blues

Do you think you've hit bottom?
Do you think you've hit bottom?
Oh, no.
There's a bottom below.

There's a low below the low you know.
You can't imagine how far you can go...down.

Every once in awhile your lesson hits home
It clicks, it’s fun, but don’t forget...next time you’ll go...down

Do you think you've hit bottom?
Do you think you've hit bottom?
Oh, no.
There's a bottom below.

You watch the Kleenex fill up the trash can
Wash every surface with Chlorox and then (on the weekend) you go...down

Do you think you've hit bottom?
Do you think you've hit bottom?
Oh, no.
There's a bottom below.

You’re patient and kind and your voice is kept low
You’re frustrated and angry and then you yell...you’ve gone...down

Do you think you've hit bottom?
Do you think you've hit bottom?
Oh, no.
There's a bottom below.

There's a low below the low you know.
You can't imagine how far you can go...down.

©Mary Lee Hahn (with apologies to Malvina Reynolds)

Education is Not a Business

photo via unsplash

Education is Not a Business

The child lines up his teddy bears
to teach them ABCs.
He guides them gently in the task,
"The way Miss Smith taught me."

"We learn to share, hold hands in line,
protect and help and hug.
At story time in the media center
we find our place on the rug."

The profits from our nation's schools
aren't measured with nickels and dimes.
Our future's there within those walls --
let's polish them 'til they shine.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017



This is a poem for Laura Shovan's Annual February Writing Project. The words/phrases for this poem

worldview
help
shareholders
safer
protections
dishonest
media
replace
business
Messiah

originated here.

Teacher

photo via unsplash

Teacher

Nothing prepared her for
the psychology of the actors,
the unfamiliar narrative framework,
the doubt she barely concealed
that bravery would ever find her.

And no one told her about
the tears that would suddenly pool,
the ache she couldn’t heal,
the glory of the learning
that would transcend it all.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

This is a poem for Laura Shovan's Annual February Writing Project. The words/phrases for this poem

psychology
actors
narrative
framework
pool
bravery
transcends
capture
conceal
doubt

originated here.

Quite So Much

Quite So Much

If it weren't for the clouds
I wouldn't love the blue
quite so much.

If it weren't for the cold shock
of the first step into the river
I wouldn't love dry land
quite so much.

If it weren't for the surprise of bright yellow fungus
I wouldn't love dead trees
quite so much.

If it weren't for the constant chatter
and the loud enthusiasm of children
I wouldn't love silence
quite so much.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016


Our fifth graders went to Highbanks Metropark last week for a field trip put on by the Ohio River Foundation, a group that works towards "protecting and restoring the Ohio River and its watershed." The Olentangy River, which runs through Highbanks, is a part of the Ohio River watershed. Our students took part in several activities that determined the health of the Olentangy River, and that reinforced the need to conserve our fresh water resources. This poem was inspired by our field trip.


Violet is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Violet Nesdoly | Poems.

The End

Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Sarah Browning

THE END

Just when the story's getting good,
I must close the book and return it
to the rightful owner.

I have marked up the text a bit:
underlined key phrases,
jotted notes in the margins.

I've dogeared some pages,
left smears of optimism,
streaked whole paragraphs with my tears,

slept with the book under my pillow,
taken it with me everywhere,
thrown it at the wall in frustration (on more than one occasion).

You'd think by now I would have learned to live
with never knowing the ends of these stories.
I have not.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



There are just a few more days of school left, and I am getting ready to say goodbye, in most cases forever, to the people who have been my life for the past 9 months -- this crazy, quirky bunch of students who bloomed late, but bloomed GLORIOUSLY.