Museum Guard

MUSEUM GUARD

It's a good enough job, I guess.
I tell my friends it's dead boring,
walking around watching old ladies
who pretend to look at art
until it's time for lunch
in the museum cafe.

You don't know art
until you spend an 8-hour shift with it;
until you put in a 40-hour week
studying every brushstroke out of the corner of your eye.

In the afternoons,
couples come,
sometimes standing close,
heads bent together,
murmuring.
Sometimes one drags the other by the hand to a painting,
points,
and they laugh softly at an inside joke.

That girl stands with her nose
way too close to the Monet.
I walk by so she knows I see
but she is lost in the mystery
of light and shadow and color,
stepping forward, stepping back,
as I have done so often
when the gallery
was empty.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Botch

ADVICE

Don't be afraid to botch it,
Or you'll sit sidelined and watch it.

You might have to say, "I blew it."
But you won't find out 'til you...DO IT!


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015


Here are some Growth Mindset resources to go with this poem:

Zen Pencils: Great People Do Things Before They're Ready

Zen Pencils: The Gift of Life

List of Picture Books

Carol Dweck's TED Talk

Lurch

Wikimedia

15 ½ Year-Old Learning to Drive 

a 1960 Ford Falcon 

With "Three-on-the-Tree:" 

A Play in Five Acts

ACT 1 -- First Lessons

Vroom!

Rev, rev, rev...

Lurch-cough-die.

Vroom!

Rev, rev, rev...

Lurch-cough-die.

 ACT 2 -- After Weeks of Practice

Vroom!

Rev, rev, rev,

Creep, creep, lurch-cough-die.

Vroom!

Rev, creep, 

Rev, glide,

DRIVE!

ACT 3 -- Newton's First Law

Vroom!

Rev, creep, 

Rev, glide,

Drive.

Stop!

Brake-lurch-die.

Vroom! 

Rev, glide, drive.

Slow, clutch, stop.

ACT 4 -- Finishing Touches

Vroom! 

Rev, glide, drive.

Slow, clutch, stop...hillside.

Vroom!

Rev, REV, REV...

Lurch-squeal-drive.

ACT 5 -- Gray Hair and Sleeplessness

Vroom!

Rev, glide, drive.

Bye!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Inch

an inch of green

above the brown

where just last week

was snow

makes me believe

in hidden things

like nature's urge

to grow

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Poetry Month 2015

SKEPTIC

Head tilted,

one eyebrow arched,

lips pinched:

Are you sure?

Seven days a week?

Really?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

That skeptic lives inside my head, but I'm going to ignore her.

Will writing a poem a day that either uses an emotion word or evokes that emotion be any harder than writing a poem a day about obscure wonders of the world?

("Um...yes," says my skeptic in my ear.)

Sorry, skeptic. We're doing this. And any of YOU who want to come along for the ride are invited to join us for an April that will LITERALLY be an emotional roller coaster!

I've created a list of 30 emotions that various researchers have identified, using this resource.  I'll publish the list next week. I made my graphic for this year using a public domain, no-attribution-necessary image and the graphic design site Canva.

My poem today is for Heidi's MarCH CHallenge.

Last, but not least, Laura (who coincidentally shares a perfect PO-EMotion for today) has the Poetry Friday roundup at Author Amok.

Grrrr...

RIGHT AND WRONG

The customer is always right
except when they're wrong
and so determined to get their way
that they go over your head to your boss
and next will be your boss' boss
if you don't pitch your scruples
in order to keep the peace.
The customer who is the biggest bully is always right.
And that's just wrong.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Snail

SNAIL

My snail is mostly foot.
His mouth is really small.
So does he scale, or does he smooch
the glass of the fish tank wall?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Flight

FLIGHT

Outside my apartment
is a small patch of grass
and a parking lot.
Beyond that is a ditch
full of dirty snow and trash.

But across the road
are power lines
where a hawk often perches
long enough for me to sketch.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Preach

A Note to My Students

Stop me if I start to preach.
That’s not my job;
I’m here to teach.

And if I talk and talk and talk,
remind me — gently –
I should stop

and listen more
and let you speak,
discover, wonder,

think,
think,
think.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Good Dog!

Flickr Creative Commons photo by L Church

What to do if You Are a Retriever

Freeze until the command is given.
Explode from the down-stay.
Tear across the lawn at lightning speed.
Catch the frisbee, mid-air.
Hustle back, tail high, ready for more.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Brrr...

Pre-Dawn Walk, Winter Edition

It's more than just a punch.
I'm hit by a powerful blow
as I turn north
into the bitter wind.

It slams me back,
rakes my face,
tears away breath,
tears up my eyes.

Seventy steps,
head bent,
then I turn west
and am sheltered.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Hunter

HUNTER

Cat at the window
silent and still
squirrel on the porch
oblivious until...

twitch goes the tail,
smack goes the paw,
zoom goes the squirrel
now crossing the lawn.

©Mary Lee Hahn



This poem was written for Heidi Mordhorst's MarCH CHallenge.

Perspective

PERSPECTIVE

Orion's arms and legs and sword
stretch clear across the sky.

Yet if I hold my thumb to him
he seems to be that high.

Why?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



This poem was written for Heidi Mordhorst's MarCH CHallenge.

March

MARCH

March swoops in low
on the wings of a crow

caw caw cawing
at a hawk.

March flashes red --
cardinal's head

in a bold show
contrasting the snow.

March sings, when
at the feeder, wren

points joy to the sky,
lets notes fly.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



This poem was written for Heidi Mordhorst's MarCH Challenge.

Sky Poem

Poem for the Golden Sky I See Outlining a Web of Winter-Bare Trees and Contrasting the Blue-White Snow-Topped Roofs When I Open My Eyes All Warm and Drowsy After a Nap on a Day Proclaimed to be Too Cold to go to School

I love you.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

The Higher Power of Potato Chips

My first attempt at a Higher Power poem, a challenge given by Joyce Sidman.


What do potato chips know?
     You can't resist us.
     There's power in crispness.
     Grease is delicious.

What do potato chips know?
     Our stay is brief.
     Life needs treats.
     Occasionally, salty conquers sweet.

©Mary Lee Hahn 2015

Ebb

Several Days Have Gone By

No poem written,
(not even notes for a later poem)
no regret for all the lost poems,
(what would they even have been about)
no self-censure for losing momentum:

flow needs ebb.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Porch Light

Leave the porch light on.

Its warm light will be welcome

after a long day.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2014

Cold

Remember This in July

At five degrees
my eyeballs feel
like they will freeze.
Tears stream down my cheeks,
burning my face.
My fingers are stiff
inside my mittens
and the cold of the street
comes through my boots
into my feet.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Icy

ICY

Leave the safety of solid footing.
Embrace insecurity.
Focus.
Sense the slip.
Mince, don't stride.
Stay standing --
celebrate success!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Scones

ODE TO AJ'S SCONES

Warm from the oven,
your edges crispy,
your center fluffy,
your oats crunchy,
your chocolate chips melty,

you tempt me to gobble,
but I force myself to nibble.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

The Light Within the Light

The Light Within the Light

Just when you're sure
that all shadows are black
you notice the shadow of the oak on snow
is blue.

And the shadow of your hand
holding this pencil
writing on this page
is also blue.

Under the table beside the couch --
black.
Behind the pillows --
black.

What magic of light and white
turn black to blue?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015




The title of this poem comes from the title of a book I got for Christmas -- The Light Within the Light: Portraits of Donald Hall, Richard Wilbur, Maxine Kumin, & Stanley Kunitz by Jeanne Braham with engravings by Barry Moser

Bonus Points

DO I GET

Bonus points
for working out in the pool

on a day too cold
for there to be school?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

What Does a Teacher Do on a "Dangerously Cold Windchills" Day Off?

What Does a Teacher Do on a "Dangerously Cold Windchills" Day Off?

I'm up early.
The house is quiet
except for the tick and clong
of two old clocks
that are impossible to synchronize.

At my end of the couch,
I am surrounded in a bubble of warm light.
My tea steams.
I finish a book I've been meaning to read,
then flip open my computer to read blogs
and Tweet new learning.

I nearly freeze driving to school
to feed the fish
but at least the car is warm when we go out to lunch.

I set the timer and write for forty-five minutes,
just like I'll ask my students to
next time we meet.
(Tomorrow? Next week?)

I plan a writing lesson,
what we'll do next with division,
and I'll play around with a photo.
(Again, just like I'll ask my students to.)

Later, I'll go to my water aerobics class
--BRRRR--

After dinner,
I'll watch a little TV.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

The Verdict

THE VERDICT

Standing at the open door
scenting the harshly cold
slightly smoky air
he leans toward the porch
then abruptly turns away
walks to the kitchen
checks his bowl
heads for the blanket
he'll be curled on
until past noon.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2014



Our William is a rescue cat who knows something good when he's got it.

Snow Day!

SNOW DAY!

Across the planet
all the way down under,
children there
are enjoying summer.

They frolic in sand
with happy bare feet,
while I trudge through snow
so cold that it squeaks.

Their sky is blue.
My sky is grey.
But we've both got no school --
let's go out and play!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Winter Moonlight

WINTER MOONLIGHT

sifts through bare trees
skims the empty street
skips ahead of bitter breezes
drifts where shadows meet

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Audubon Metro Park

AUDUBON METRO PARK

The sun -- a low-hanging smudge.
The pond -- a layer of ice over mud.

A movement under the ice -- a darker oval.
A late afternoon surprise -- a winter turtle.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

Expectantly

EXPECTANTLY

Next to the lamp, an
Open book and a steaming cup of
Tea.
In the chair, she sits with
Closed eyes, listening
Expectantly.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015


My One Little Word for 2015 is NOTICE. In this poem, I prepare myself for whatever 2015 will bring!

Tricia has the first Poetry Friday roundup of the year at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Premonition

from Wikimedia Commons

PREMONITION

Why do I get the feeling
that the ticking of the clock
is actually
the roller coaster car of my life
ratcheting toward the first
unseen
stomach-dropping
plummet
of the new year?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2014