April 1: Poetry a Day Challenge: Living in an Airport

Arrivals and departures

the same black screens

cities scrolling by in steady waves

Houston, San Francisco

Johannesburg, Atlanta

San Juan, Honolulu. . .

Which leg am I on?

How many tickets are stapled together?

Which airport am I at?

I check in on my Foursquare

The local time is 6:26 am,

this morning I’m in Newark

leg three of four

Each airport looks like another

Starbucks, Hudson News, Best Buy, Wolfgang Puck’s

I file through TSA

laptop in a bin

shoes on the belt

jacket stuffed in my bag

passport out -

but I’m always in the slowest line

behind babies and foreigners

hiding six-packs of water in their

carry on bags

the story of my life,

learning patience from the airport queue

some things cannot be controlled

arrivals and departures

wanderlust

solitary journeys

anonymity of the gate

aisle seats near the bathroom

a preference for silent seat mates

and redeye flights

my life made up of arrivals and departures

the safety of being strapped in a seat

stuck in a metal bird with nowhere to go

and finally a chance to quiet my brain

catch up with my sleep

and dream only of

arrivals and departures.

--Cathy Kanoelani Ikeda

4/1/12

Comments

Kino (an indigenous logic model): post 1 of 4

Passion I have. What I need is to practice my elevator speeches, those short informative program synopses that can be done in the time it takes to ride the elevator. Of course it will take me 4 posts. Post 1: The honua: building on solid ground The Alana culture-based education course is graphically depicted by the above logic model. The honua (green box), the earth, represents the mo'ok ūauhau, the geneology of this program that informs and guides the building of this course. Dr. Shawn Kanaʻiaupuni and her team lay the foundation for culture-based education (CBE) modeling and immersion within the course. Dr. Walter Kahumoku and Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa, in consultation with Dr. Bernice McCarthy (4Mat) bring to the geneology the work of moenahā, a curriculum planning concept based on the way kupuna taught. Makawalu, literally eight eyes, is a concept practiced by Kaʻimipono Kaiwi and her teachers at Kamehameha Kapālama to encourage multiple perspectives in the standards-b...

The Last Teacher

6/4/24 Anna's last day was Friday, May 31, 2024 She collected all of her gifts and notes from her students Took pictures with her seniors who she had as freshmen four years ago Turned in her keys and walked away from her Georgia classroom made up of predominantly black and brown students who needed her to stay. She is not (really) leaving because of the constant shift of politics/policies/procedures of her school district She survived that. She is not (really) leaving because she suddenly lost her colleague and mentor last year, her marigold. She survived that. She is not (really) leaving because of the overwhelming needs of her students Who continue to need her even after they have left her class. She did this tearfully because she was both too empty and too full to stay another year. She is going to graduate school for counseling in the fall Her next dream is to do horse therapy for children and young adults. She sees this as a failure on her part. ...

Battle of the Sexes

Ok, it's not a battle, but after being married for 20 years, I realize that there are some things that fall into the "mom's job" category, and there are some things that are strictly dad's domain. Mom's job is to find things. For 20 years I have lived in a male dominant household. The fact that the majority of the toilet seats in my house remain in the down position is a testament of the power of the one and only alpha female. However, what I can't do is teach my children (and my husband) how to do what I call "mom looking" versus "man looking." I don't need to explain this for the moms. They know exactly what I'm talking about. The guys are slower to catch on. I'll type s-l-o-w-l-y. Here's a typical "man looking" conversation: "mom! (or Cat!), where's the ______ (insert anything from socks to the car)?" "It's in the _________ (insert my instructions like refrigerator, garage, o...

Pure Manaʻo

Search This Blog