It’s been a school year. All 55 days of it. I keep telling myself I’m growing as a teacher. I’m learning a lot. I tell myself that on repeat. (There’s some other looping self-talk going on, too, but I’m not going to share that right now.)
Trying to be proactive, I’ve been adding things to my weeknight schedule, deliberately creating some time out of the vortex of school. I noticed an upcoming event at the Portland Museum of Art and planned to attend, registering for a free one hour ekphrastic poetry class.
I called my daughter, Lydia, and asked if she wanted to meet for dinner and go to the museum beforehand. My husband opted to join us, and I looked forward to the event all week. A little breathing room.
Then I had one of the worst teaching days of my life. Enough said. I was desperate to escape into an evening out; however, by the end of that “terrible, horrible, no good very bad day”, I had no bandwidth for participating in a class. None. The idea of listening to someone talk about, well, anything, and then putting myself out there with some strangers was, in that moment, horrifying. It wasn’t an option.
So, after dinner, we walked over to the museum. I touched base with the volunteer at the desk to free up my space in the class in case someone else wanted to join. I, then, breathed a huge sigh of relief.
While Kurt wandered, Lydia and I decided to check out the erasure poetry center set up in the museum’s Great Hall. They had supplied printed pages and pencils. We reached through the crowded area to the materials, randomly selecting a page each, then settled in to create our poems. Here’s what I came up with:
When A Country Discards Empathy
no hint of human
empty
still and silent
distance visible
dissolving fidelity
©Molly Hogan
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Janice Scully at her blog, Salt City Verse.
Nix the comfort zone 
So sorry for your very bad day, Molly. But it looks like you were able to turn it around with good company and a successful poetry experience. Giving “empty” its own line reinforces the feeling for me. I love that the art museum is connecting to writing. Interesting!
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It was an interesting exhibit, though I didn’t fully take it in. There was a lot of information about how poets used to also write a lot of art criticism. The rotating exhibit featured a woman whose art was often inspired by poems.
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Thanksgiving can’t come soon enough for y’all. I am so pleased Lydia is in the area and can do such things spontaneously with you. Some teachers don’t take mental health days because it is so much work to prepare for the sub. I was not one of those teachers. I also had an Arizona teacher friend who had a “substitute attitude” day every so often. She would be better than an substitute with her students, but she didn’t stress if everything wasn’t accomplished. She chilled while being at school. Win/win for kids and teach.
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Gotta love that substitute attitude! We talk about “being our own sub for the day” but that’s generally when we’re trying to keep the vast majority of kids independently working while we power out individual assessments. I’m going to give this idea some thought!
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I really like that erasure poem and the fact that the museum had set up an erasure poem center. Just such a good, creative idea. I hope your days in the short week next week are better.
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Thanks, Susan! There were a variety of activities going on, but the erasure one was perfect for me that evening. It was quite fun to do it with my daughter 🙂
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Sorry to hear your plan to attend the class didn’t work out, but good that you managed an erasure poem anyway. Wishing you no more of those “no good very bad days” in the future.
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Thanks, Jama! I do enjoy the kids in my class, but en masse their chemistry is exhausting. We’ll get there, sooner or later 🙂
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Molly: Loved this piece. What a great idea! Cheryl
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Thanks, Cheryl! It was a really nice evening. I always enjoy a trip to the museum and when combined with time with Lydia, it’s even more fun!
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Molly, I’m sorry you had a very bad day (yes, I know the book to which you are referring and had in my collection for years). It’s disappointing to have to cancel plans when you know you just can’t participate in the way you originally planned. I can so relate to this. Glad you did what was right for you and that you had company despite changing your plans. Take care – Carol ~
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Thanks, Carol. Opting out of the class felt like self-care, and I had no regrets. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the evening.
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I’m sorry about the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! But I’m glad you were able to salvage something sweet at the end of it. The erasure poem corner was a tiny little saving grace!
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I was so glad that I had something planned for the evening! 🙂 It did feel really good to create something at the end of that day.
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I meant to add that even though the subject matter is *not* sweet, I’m glad you were able to exercise some creativity. At the end of a day like that, I might have just curled up in the dark at home.
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I’m really trying hard not to come home and stare at the walls! lol I’m scheduling little events here and there during the week, and so far, it’s been quite positive.
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Hi Molly! Sending a virtual hug, with a cup of virtual tea and a side of virtual truffles and a pile of grace. I was just telling a mom-to-be this weekend that some days when my kids were growing up I would end the day thinking “Well, I really effed up today. Praying I do better tomorrow,” and then sometimes the next day I would think the same thing, haha! But they all turned out great so no harm, no foul 🙂 One foot in front of the other! xo
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Thanks, Tabatha! I appreciate all the virtual support, especially the pile of grace.
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