This is what I do

Last night I went to Taft St. Coffee house to hear some poetry from the local poet's scene. It was amazing! I have been a part of another poet's group that meets every month for the past three years. While I have learned a great deal from that group and we have formed a bond it was refreshing to go out and hear other voices. I was particulary impressed with a young group of poets who call their group Meta-Four. They are talented, fresh, and speak directly from the heart. Sometimes I think the world of writers is such a lonely one and we hole up in our rooms writing our poems and it gets frustrating when the words just won't form a cohesive flow. I know I sometimes feel my poetry is forced. But these energetic young people have that spark that comes from youth and their experiences. It's great. I enjoyed myself and they just serve as inspiration to keep doing what I do.

What do you do?

I have been teaching for the better part of a decade. Now I am without a job. The teaching crisis is at its full peak. Our law-makers consider education the last priority and have decided it's okay to fire teachers and cram more students into a classroom. So I am facing unemployment, general anxiety about the future, and a sense of floundering. What else can I do? I am a teacher. I love being a teacher. Maybe it's time to focus my energies on other things.