A Child’s understanding of fire
As a small
child she saw
a neighborhood
fire swell out
of one roof and
swallow a dozen
homes—the flame,
a giant trapped
creature striving
upwards, miserable
and frantic. In the
aftermath, blackened
support beams spilled
into the charred streets
and smoldered to ash.
She did not understand
where the flame had gone,
so imagined it drifting
off in an endless,
hungry
free-float
Justification for grades given to my senior level Appreciation of Literature class
Eli was killed by riding in front of a controlled avalanche in Breckenridge over spring break.
No grade administered
Jeremy was expelled for sticking a shotgun outside his dorm window and shooting migratory geese.
There is no grade column for this.
Melissa is missing, she never showed up, and no one has ever heard a word from her.
F.
Ted is mostly drunk in class and I fear it is due to excessive appreciation of the tragedy found within the reading list
B+.
Denise is having a wild affair with me and has been given reprieve from coming to class.
A.
Jean knows about Denise and I and stopped showing up to class as well.
A.
Laura is a brilliant, ugly girl who I want to protect so she will pursue something else with her talents.
C-.
James is an obnoxious idiot who must fail.
Fail.
Tate came to my office and told me such a compelling story of family tragedy that kept him away that we wept.
Incomplete.
Breanne has articulated her opinions perfectly without being a suck up.
A.
Juan I am certain speaks no English and should have never been allowed in this class. His school life will be hard.
A.
Lewis has never said a word in class, has never taken his eyes off of me and terrifies me.
A.
Theresa scowled when she talked and quickly figured out I was a fraud and I hate her dearly.
B-.
John told the class a story involving a burning newspaper and what he called the dance of the flaming asshole.
A.
Andy arrived early every week bearing the true heart of everything we read in the pages of his notebook.
A.
As a small
child she saw
a neighborhood
fire swell out
of one roof and
swallow a dozen
homes—the flame,
a giant trapped
creature striving
upwards, miserable
and frantic. In the
aftermath, blackened
support beams spilled
into the charred streets
and smoldered to ash.
She did not understand
where the flame had gone,
so imagined it drifting
off in an endless,
hungry
free-float
Justification for grades given to my senior level Appreciation of Literature class
Eli was killed by riding in front of a controlled avalanche in Breckenridge over spring break.
No grade administered
Jeremy was expelled for sticking a shotgun outside his dorm window and shooting migratory geese.
There is no grade column for this.
Melissa is missing, she never showed up, and no one has ever heard a word from her.
F.
Ted is mostly drunk in class and I fear it is due to excessive appreciation of the tragedy found within the reading list
B+.
Denise is having a wild affair with me and has been given reprieve from coming to class.
A.
Jean knows about Denise and I and stopped showing up to class as well.
A.
Laura is a brilliant, ugly girl who I want to protect so she will pursue something else with her talents.
C-.
James is an obnoxious idiot who must fail.
Fail.
Tate came to my office and told me such a compelling story of family tragedy that kept him away that we wept.
Incomplete.
Breanne has articulated her opinions perfectly without being a suck up.
A.
Juan I am certain speaks no English and should have never been allowed in this class. His school life will be hard.
A.
Lewis has never said a word in class, has never taken his eyes off of me and terrifies me.
A.
Theresa scowled when she talked and quickly figured out I was a fraud and I hate her dearly.
B-.
John told the class a story involving a burning newspaper and what he called the dance of the flaming asshole.
A.
Andy arrived early every week bearing the true heart of everything we read in the pages of his notebook.
A.
