gato quemado

i'm progressing in this poem. i wrote it one way. then i rewrote it another way. and i think when i rewrite it again, it'll be another way. i do feel good about it, though.
i have a few more ideas to continue this train of thought.

the arts

it was a day full of artistic expression. a bit emotional and a bit wonderous.

i attended latin american poetry nite at a local coffee shop tonite. people crammed in to hear about six or seven people read their poems. the poems were in spanish and english. it amazed me at the beauty of the words and richness of images. i love poetry read in spanish. the words roll out of people's mouths and seem to float in the air, hanging there, before slipping away into one's ears for processing.

great stuff from talented latinos in our community.

later, i came home to watch "so you think you can dance" with dawn. i'd missed one of the dances from the previous night where there was a theme of breast cancer. it was beautifully danced and moved everyone. it had the judges in tears (nigel included).

i love the way the arts pull you in, whether it's a poem or dance, or a song, a book, and emotions pour out of them and into you. it affects so much. sometimes you just have to let it take you, succomb to it. don't fight it.

migrant school lessons

for the third year in a row, i headed out to the migrant summer school. for a change this year i went into the middle school classroom instead of into steph's room and with the same kids she's had and i've known for the past two years.

i helped the students with an assignment on typhoid mary. one group had to make a summary of the story and the other was writing what amounted to an article.

it was exciting.it was a different group, though in a short presentation the past summer, i did go into their classroom. so i knew a few and they knew me.

they asked me lots of good questions about me and the job or writing. it was really interesting. and i met some good kids today. they are so smart and try hard to impress.

i'm supposed to go back monday and work in two classrooms, steph's and in the one i was in today.

it really made my day. felt good.