Blood Stained Carved Hearts Haiku

distant sirens ...

blood stained carved hearts

in a school desk

Cold Moon Journal, June 12 2022

Old Black Man and Mississippi Sunset Tanka

reading between the lives and writing between the lines, X

"critical race theory 

banned in all classrooms ..."

an old black man

silhouetted against

the Mississippi sunset

PoemHunter, January 25 2022

Tattooed Number Tanka

reading between the lives and writing between the lines, VII

written in response to State Senator Scott Baldwin's comment

be impartial

when teaching about Nazism ...

the tattooed number

still visible on grandpa’s arm

and in his broken heart

PoemHunter, January 13, 2022

FYI: Washington Post, Jan. 10, 2022: An Indiana GOP state senator said teachers ‘need to be impartial’ during lessons about Nazism and fascism

On Wednesday, during an Indiana state Senate committee hearing about a proposed bill that would ban “divisive concepts” in school classrooms, Republican Sen. Scott Baldwin said teachers’ lessons about fascism and Nazism should be impartial.

“Marxism, Nazism, fascism … I have no problem with the education system providing instruction on the existence of those ‘isms,’ ” said Baldwin, who co-wrote the bill. “I believe that we’ve gone too far when we take a position. … We need to be impartial.”...

Flutter of Fear Tanka

framed butterflies
hang over my niece’s desk
at summer’s end
this flutter of fear
on returning to school 

Japanese Translation by Hidenori Hiruta

額縁に入っている蝶
姪の机に掛かっている
夏の終わりに
この不安の動悸
復学する際に

Akita International Haiku Network, March 30, 2019

My Captain Tanka

for Robin Williams

shoe prints
on a classroom desk
echoing
in my mind
oh captain, my captain

NeverEnding Story, August 12 2014

Malala Day Tanka For Malala Yousafzai

who stood up for education and against the Taliban

and who became Canada’s sixth honorary citizen yesterday

Malala Day
is not my day thundered
across the room...
a girl opens her new book
under the Swat Valley sun

PoemHunter, Oct. 2013

Note: The following is excerpted from Malala Yousafzai’s speech at the United Nations:

Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing. Malala day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights. There are hundreds of Human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them.

So here I stand... one girl among many.

I speak – not for myself, but for all girls and boys.

I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.

Those who have fought for their rights:

Their right to live in peace.

Their right to be treated with dignity.

Their right to equality of opportunity.

Their right to be educated.