A poem after Allen Ginsberg
…And how Death is that remedy all singers dream of, sing, remember, prophesy as in the Hebrew Anthem, or the Buddhist Book of Answers — and my own imagination of a withered leaf — at dawn — …a flash away, and the great dream of Me or China, or you and a phantom Russia, or a crumpled bed that never existed — like a poem in the dark — escaped back to Oblivion — …
— Allen Ginsberg, from “Kaddish”
I saw you, as old father, in the supermarket last weekend — my sister never sees you old, Dad, as…
Always learning teacher/writer/mama/wife/sister/daughter
Hi! My name is Samantha Rae Lazar. Thank you for taking the time to read my little auto-bio. I began writing on Medium in June 2019, and I am in love with this platform, even with all of its challenges and changes. It has become the writing community I have always craved.
I have been a writer since I could write and a humanities teacher (English/Language Arts, Social Studies/History) since 1998. I have lived the school schedule since I was in pre-school. I buy new planners/calendars in June. I currently teach 5th grade.
I live and work in a beautiful…
FROM THE EDITOR
Sometimes it takes a little kindling
It is only the middle of April and not only have we seen a huge influx of poetry submissions, but we have also had 23 pieces chosen by Medium editors for further distribution! I think Medium has certainly gotten back to work on working for its writers, but National Poetry Month certainly kindles inspiration.
Perhaps it is the awesome #NatPoWriMo challenge ◦•●Christina M. Ward ●•◦ put together! Poets are more engaged, and we hope this trend continues.
Today we highlight the poems that have been “curated” this month as we raise the level of poetry and grow as a publication…
Poetry for Gutenberg and National Poetry Month
Prose poetry of an empathic teacher
Highlights of a day teaching as an empath with an anxious dozen: all masked, living off my own dwindling fumes. I’m a pinball on a balance beam, their other mother, when it’s Dad’s week to have them. I consider doubling my dose, as it’s absorbed energy — intensity never waning — thicker than my postpartum panic.
Couple spring fevered pre-adolescence with dysfunctional communication, organization, and executive function and you have the makings of triage teaching. Other people’s distraction is sticky and likely highly more contagious than coronavirus at this point. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.
The fourth of June is…
A poem for the crescent moon
A poem of spring
Thoughts on the North Carolina Senate Bill 514
Senate Bill 514 would also compel state employees to immediately notify parents in writing if their child displays “gender nonconformity” or expresses a desire to be treated in a way that is incompatible with the gender they were assigned at birth. LGBTQ advocates fear the bill would out people under 21 who tell state workers that they may be transgender. — From NBC.
No. I will never report a child For their gender “nonconformity.” I will never reduce a child’s Humanity. I will not make criminal Children’s expression of Their growing Identities. I will never be this Teacher. I will…
National Poetry Month, Challenge 9
Prose poetry for the color blue
Samantha Lazar
Poetry, fiction, and essays in celebration of being a Mom, Wife, Educator, Writer, & Lover of Life.
