Poems, Part 1.

So, this space has largely been ignored and abandoned since Cheryl and I started the Teach180 project at the beginning of this semester. 

However, Chris Lehman and Kate Baker have sort of dared me to start writing again via the Teacher Poets project that's going on through April (at least). I did a lot of writing of poems in college, and I haven't in a long time. 

Anyway, this week's poetry prompt was about small details and to answer, "Why poetry?" The following poem is my response, at least in early draft form. 
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The Uses of Poetry

Poems paint toenails,
push thumbs into arches

of aching feet, trace veins
and tendons,
elevate calves, smooth 
bunions, sand away 
dead heels.  

Poems impress girls, 
loosen braids
and remove socks-- they turn 
heartbeats into drumrolls 
under ribcages,
show tension, attention,

release with single
words: fingertip, trapezius,
pectoralis--

Poems open single tulips,
they revel in yellows and reds
and in each petal falling,

the freckles tumbling 
out of your sleeves,

a tangled constellation
that changes every time 
you lift your hand.