Here we are, on the eve of Spring Break, and everyone is ready for it! The halls are swirling with excitement, and yesterday we encouraged our students to take a small moment to offer some gratitude to a teacher, friend, or classmate who’s added some positive energy to their year.

In the spirit of transition, and spring, I offered this poem to students. Please enjoy it, and the break.

 

Somewhere

a black bear

has just risen from sleep

and is staring

down the mountain.

All night

in the brisk and shallow restlessness

of early spring

I think of her,

her four black fists

flicking the gravel,

her tongue

like a red fire

touching the grass,

the cold water.

There is only one question:

how to love this world.

I think of her

rising

like a black and leafy ledge

to sharpen her claws against

the silence

of the trees.

Whatever else

my life is

with its poems

and its music

and its cities,

it is also this dazzling darkness

coming

down the mountain,

breathing and tasting;

all day I think of her –

her white teeth,

her wordlessness,

her perfect love.