Poetry for “troubled times”

I’ve been listening to a lot of Bruce Springsteen lately. He’s one of my favorite singer, song-writers and has been a constant source of inspiration throughout my life…especially while I was working on my PhD. He’s been doing a cool thing for Sirius/XM, the satellite radio service that has a station dedicated to him called E Street Radio. During the pandemic, he’s been recording special broadcasts titled: Bruce Springsteen From My Home to Yours. These broadcasts included curated playlists, by The Boss, to help all of us get through these “troubled times.” I’ve listened to all 6 installments of this series since discovering their existence in mid-June and, like his music, have found them to be spiritual moments that have caused me to reflect on my professional life at multiple levels. Listening to this series also inspired to purchase his latest album, Western Stars. After listening to the album one time through I was inspired to write some poetry…unrelated to the album mind you. One of the things I like about the type of poetry I write is that I can cryptically burry some of my own life experiences within the lines of said poetry. What follows are 4 haikus (in the style of another inspiration of mine, Jack Kerouac) that attempt to capture my thinking about the “troubled times” I helped the families I serve, as their 4th grade teacher, get through this past Spring and the impact it has had, and continues to have, on me. 

Thanks for the inspiration Bruce!

novice statistician 

frightened

by the data that continues to cumulate 

co-contributor

disgusted 

by the time capsule he helped create

urban warrior

encouraged

by the resilience of the youth

opaque institutional operations 

unclouded

by the inequalities radiating from the other side of the screen