Aprons

By Joyce Teed

Appalling
that we have to
don our aprons
once again
clean this mess up
once and for all
and start beating
like a country
with one heart
beat
feed the lost
address the loss
of
one country
indivisible
and clean the
talking sheets
out of this
country
once and for all
making the bed
of safety
for one and
for all
forever
cleaning away hate
cooking love and
ironing away
our shame
at having let
our house
get so
dirty.

Joyce Teed

I am a light seeker. Teaching American literature for thirty years to high school juniors continues to be my passion. I am appalled that textbook companies in Texas are still trying to revise and ignore Native American genocide and Slavery, the number one and two sins of the United States— and that the current administration of these United States seems to be fostering racism and white nationalism to an extreme I never envisioned. I am not even considering retiring. There is too much work to do, and students need to see and hear from seasoned teachers who remember the Civil Rights era and believe in an America that embraces all people. Since DT’s reign, I have written a poem a week. Who knew that he was the muse I was waiting for?

Illustration credit: “Folding the Sheet,” a painting in progress by Rick and Brenda Beerhorst via a Creative Commons license.