Poetry has helped me my express complex feelings since I was a child. These three selected poems showcase themes that matter to me: Love, education, and nature. The first poem, “Untitled/Unrequited,” was published in the Upper Mississippi Harvest Literary Journal.

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"Untitled/Unrequited"
Oh, that I should hope to be
A bride, a bride as pretty as she.
I wish that you would turn and see
See me, see me, and what I can be. 

No womb to bear our children,
But a soft and tender stare.
My hips are square, not stove-in
But my lips are just as fair.

My love burns just as hotly
And my passion just as red.
My fingers just as soft, love
And just as good in bed.

But you see in me a brother
And what great pain that is
To never be a lover
To never steal a kiss. 

So run along on to her
And build your family
I’ll be here by your side, dear
And hope you turn and see. 

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"The First Night of Spring"
A single cricket’s out tonight
Chirping in the moonlight’s sight.
‘Neath the empty boughs he crones
Waiting for replying tones.
Will she call?
Will she call? 
Will she rouse from winter’s slumber and fall?
Fall for that little cricket boy giving his all 
To the hissing night? 
Hissing with a thousand cars just out of sight
And metal trees with buds alight. 
A patient soldier singing.  

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"To Teach"
They were all shouting my name. They all shouted my name. They were shouting my name. They all shouted my name. They were all shouting my name.
I asked them what they wanted.
What did they want?
“We want!”
They cried,
“What we want! We want.
“What we want from you! We want.
“What we want, you must give.
“Give it!
“Give it!
You must give it to us!”
And I gave. I gave it to them.
And they took it.
It’s gone now. It’s gone now. 
What did they take? 

I wonder what they took. What they took. What they wanted.
What they wanted, they took
And left only the bones for me. 
The bones of what they wanted, they left for me
On the carpet of the classroom to clean up
The mess. 
They left for me
The bones.

I gave them
What they wanted.
They took 
What they wanted.
They left
What they wanted.
The bones.
A skeleton of the thing I gave them
Set up and fashioned up with wire and ribbon
So that when they ask again tomorrow,
When they all shout my name, shout my  name, shout my name,
When they all shout my name again tomorrow,
I can give them what they want
Set up and fashioned up with wire and ribbon
And a nice collared shirt,
And a ready smile.
The bones of what I give.