To finish out the Spring 2020 semester, teacher education students wrote poetry. Below, read and watch poems being performed from the TE 458 class.
I Wish (wishes) – Peijia Zeng
March 1, 2020:
I wished I did not need to go to class
and could get up as late as I wanted.
I wished I could have enough social distance
from people I do not like.
I wished I could stay in my room
for the whole day and do nothing.
I wished my loud, annoying, gross, and mean neighbors
were all gone.
I wished the community bathroom in my dorm can totally be used by myself.
I wished the weather in Michigan can be warmer
so I do not need to fight with the wind on my way to class.
I wished I do not need to be some classes physically
because even when I am there,
I fall asleep.
I wished a lot.
Now:
I wish I could still go to class normally
so that I could get some workout when I walk there.
I wished I could still meet and talk to people face to face,
even they are super annoying.
I wish I would not need to get trapped in this tiny dorm room.
I wish to see some people back on my floor.
(I do not wish those annoying ones back though.)
I wish more people can share the community bathroom
so it can get cleaned every day.
I wish I can be some classes physically—
I do not mean I like them.
Even though I will still fall asleep,
I do not want to stare at the laptop for the whole day.
I wish a lot.
March 15th, 2020 – Destiney Wirgau
When you wake up tomorrow
Everything is going to be different
So be sure to hug your friends
A little longer
Stop and watch the Red Cedar
A little longer
On your walk to class
Stop and chat with the people you know
Stop at your favorite food place
And be sure to dine in
On your drive home
Take the long way
Because tomorrow when you wake up
You will no longer see your professors
Face to face
You will no longer be living in your college town
You will no longer be living with your roommates
Time will be cut short
For the next three weeks
Your world will only be
immediate family
For the next three weeks
You will not go to the stores
You will not go out to eat
You will not visit your friends
Everything is going to be different
Tomorrow when
You wake up
Everything is going to be different
I have found a light in this darkness… – Kaeley Coleman
Because I haven’t had quality time with them in three years.
Because when I went to school I sacrificed time with them,
and gave it to my new friends,
and my new home.
Because when I come back to visit, I split my time
between them,
and so many others.
Because I used to hear their mindless chatter
from morning, until night.
And then I was left with phone calls
recapping only significant moments.
Because for a long time,
I was blind to their small changes
And then, in what felt like an instant,
their hair went from their shoulders,
To the middle of their back.
And where I used to look down on the tops of their heads,
Suddenly, I met them eye-to-eye.
Because I used to know their favorite snacks,
And what songs they had on repeat.
Because I hated that I said goodbye,
just as quickly as I had said hello.
Because when I am sheltering in place,
I get to hear their mindless chatter,
and their favorite songs on repeat.
Because now I don’t notice their hair growing just a little bit longer.
Because I get to see their sleepy eyes
every morning, and every night.
And I don’t have to say goodbye.
Springtime in 2020 Michigan – Ellen See
I miss celebrating March birthdays with my loved ones,
And not limiting the guest list to under 10 people.
I miss the dreadful 8-minute drive to work,
And my coworkers’ warm smiles.
I miss being able to visit my elderly grandparents,
And not worrying that I was putting their lives in danger.
I miss iced matcha lattes,
And the coffeehouse playlist playing in Starbucks.
I miss face-to-face conversations without worrying about my wifi connection.
I miss the squeals of my neighbors playing outside,
And not wondering about the health of their family.
I miss going to the grocery store,
And being blind to the people who pass by.
I miss hearing my dad get up for work in the morning,
And not worrying about when his last paycheck will come.
I miss the cool springtime air in East Lansing
And feeling the sun on my cheeks while walking to class.
I miss watching the nightly news,
And not feeling the pit in my stomach grow deeper.
I long for the day I can share hugs and hold hands again.
If I Only Knew – Lynn Hanna
If I only knew what would happen
I would tell you, you have 4 years to be irresponsible here
So, stay out late even though you have a quiz the next day
If I only knew college would be abruptly interrupted
I would tell you, you’ll never remember class time
But you’ll remember the time you spent hanging out with your friends
If I only knew what life would be like now
I would tell you, hug and hold on tight to the ones you love
As life is unpredictable
And one day may not be the same as before
My senior year has come and gone
Yours has not
So—
If I only knew, I would tell you this
April Showers – Elizabeth Baratta
I am sad for the old woman who greets me at the grocery store,
with her flimsy plastic gloves,
coming in contact with every person who walks through the door.
Going to that same grocery store
now feels like a game with life and death.
I am sad because students had to leave college,
going home to places that are so different
from the sanctuary of our stomping ground.
And for those that can’t return,
like my friend who has recently divorced parents
and has no “home” to return to.
Not wanting to go back to a broken family.
Or my sister’s roommate,
who calls home Africa,
but must reside in the lifeless halls of the dormitory.
I am sad for the international student that struggled to answer the professor
when called on,
because they could no longer whisper to the classmate next to them for clarification.
I am sad that I can’t go to my classes
and engage with other students
because no one even shows their face on the screen.
And I watch as it breaks my professors’ hearts to teach to an abyss
I am sad that I still see friends gathering, with the excuse that it
“really won’t kill anyone, will it?”
While every day thousands of healthcare workers
are paying for others’ selfish actions with their lives.
I was sad because my whole life I have heard stories
about the glories of going to the bar on your 21st
and buying your first legal drink,
But I didn’t get to do that this year,
and I feel guilty for being angry about that
when there is so much going on in the world
that is bigger than me.
I am sad because I lost almost an entire semester
of going to college with my two sisters.
It was the last time we were in same place together.
It breaks my heart that my sister won’t walk at graduation
and the other one lost her freshman year
and neither of them will get the experience they deserve.
I am sad because my study abroad was cancelled,
and I was supposed to go and see the world,
and teach English,
and travel with my sisters.
I am sad for the kids of the world, and what it cost them
for us to see how vital the public education system is.
Some are now stuck at home, with parents that won’t teach them,
or school systems they have given up on them,
and they don’t even know how much losing
that precious time in school will cost them.
I am sad for the people that are trying their very best to keep going every day.
Despite having no income,
despite the risks,
despite all that life has thrown at them,
they keep going,
tor their mothers,
their children,
their pets,
their patients.
I am sad for those that lay dying,
staring up at a white ceiling,
with a fluorescent light above
and no family near.
I am sad because after this is over
health care in America probably still won’t change,
global warming will still be an issue that no one cares about,
children will still be hungry,
and the world will still be full of inequality.
I am sad because my life has been reduced to the purple walls of my bedroom,
a walk around the block,
three meals a day on the old wooden kitchen table,
and watching the news channel illuminate my mother’s face each night.
I am sad because
I feel guilty for being angry at my small inconveniences
when the entire world
is suffering.
The unknown can be scary – Anna Mikkelsen
The unknown can be scary,
And believe me, I’m terrified.
Staying inside, not seeing friends,
packing up my entire room in the blink of an eye.
I don’t know what tomorrow may bring,
but I do know I’m going to be alright.
I know I will see my friends again.
I know I will go back to school.
I know I will get back to teaching.
I know I have constant love and support.
The sun still shines, even though I may feel darkness at times.
The birds still sing, even though the world seems to have stopped.
My Nana still bakes countless desserts, even though she now sets them on our porch.
I still have hope, even though the future is unknown.