This Week, a Poem & A Reminder

Transitions

Seems this is the time
for lots of change:
The school year
ends, that final bell
letting freedom ring
in a way no second graders’
song could ever quite accomplish.

Teachers pack
their classrooms into groaning
cardboard boxes,
stuff them into cabinets,
the smell of dry erase and eighth
grade boys in need of showers
and self-concern fading.

Brides and grooms begin
new lives, stephanotis,
calla lily, white jasmine
in bouquets that will quickly fade
dry and wrinkle the way
they can’t imagine their own hands
will, notwithstanding vows they make.

Annuals, perennials are placed
in earth, roots reaching,
dirt splattering fence as hose
sprays. Bare feet scamper,
Shh! There’s Mr. Rooney!
Hide-n-Seek and Ding-Dong-Ditch
are not allowed in this space.

Spring grows into summer,
this seasonal transition
perhaps an easier one to make.
After all, who complains
about such things as backyard
barbeques, sultry night air,
and fragrant blooms?

Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

Speaking of transitions, beginnings, and changes next week will see the start of the summer reading program at the Racine Public Library, and along with it, the fun of the WordPlay program.

As a reminder, the Racine Arts Council in cooperation with the Racine Public Library brings you WordPlay! Join me, as I facilitate this fun weekly group. WordPlay will take place on Thursdays from 4-5 p.m. in the Martin Room of the Racine Public Library. This 8-week guided workshop begins June 7 and ends July 26 and invites writers of all genres, backgrounds, levels of education, and experience to come together.

Let’s share a time of fun, artistic development, and support. WordPlay is for everyone. Looking for writing prompts to get those creative juices flowing? WordPlay’s got that. Want thoughtful critique to strengthen your style? You can get—and give—that too. Feel that you need a gentle community to keep your writing going? Come on in! Don’t consider yourself to be a “real writer,” but WordPlay sounds like it might be fun anyhow? Join us!”

This inclusive group will provide a place of inspiration where mistakes aren’t scary and misspelled words or scribbles are not a crime, but rather a stimulating and fun part of the process.