Poem by Former KIPP Teacher

by "Jennifer Liden"


marooned in a sea of
KIPPsters
monotonous morning meetings
punctuated by an unenthusiastic
We. Are. Proud. Of. You.
I say
weareproudof
you.

clap clap clap

SLANTing against a wall
to keep from fainting
from exhaustion.
quiet coyotes are bullshit
gang signs.

David Duke would be proud of these
hare krishnas.
my cell
I mean
classroom:
20 by
25 by
8

and filled past capacity with
33 kids at a time, six times
a day.

where are the windows for
my seasonal depression
sunlight therapy
reason for moving here?

now that I am gone,
this room is
unenthusiastically referred to
as the
cloud room

and is used
for 5 to 7 pm
daily
abu ghraib
public shame
detentions.