emotions and humidity

emotions

emotions, to me, are like excessive summer humidity,

so much pent-up and not expressed except as a heaviness,

give it something to coalesce around

and rain, like tears, can storm from the sky. 

by Henry H. Walker

June 18, ’15

a challenge to the garden

drought heat and the garden

the school year mostly finished up a week ago

and the last days have been for the garden,

fighting future weeds with newspaper and leaves

and the high 90s drought heat with hose and soaking,

the squash and cucumber all a-flower

yet I worry for their fruit

if the rains don’t come while we’re gone,

like this year’s potatoes, whose yield plummeted in the dry,

the first tomatoes are close to full yield,

the Kentucky Wonder pole beans are just up and raring to go,

but all the garden can only thrive for a few days

without God or me adding water to the baking. 

by Henry H. Walker

June 20, ’15

I honor the father

Fatherhood

every child is precious

and the rearing of that child

deserves the finest of instinct, decision, care,

I am in awe of the mother

within whom the life begins

and who regularly allows the best to be possible,

there should be awe when watching

a young mother swaddle the child with love,

I can be in awe of the father

for whom the rearing is more of choice

and the way forward seemingly more pathless,

the father who sees the child,

who knows the child,

who is there for the child,

can help the way open clear

for the precious within the child

to break free of the shells that can hold him and her back,

at the heart of it all, the child makes his and her own way,

now, though, I honor the father,

whose love and effort can support the child

in becoming the best possible person

inherent within what choice and circumstance allow.

My sons, you are great fathers!

Thank you for who you are.

by Henry H. Walker

June 14, ‘15

to see the light within

to see a student, truly

a child becomes a student

and a teacher takes responsibility

for the learning that should happen,

at best, in partnership with the learner,

each student, to learn,

needs to be “seen,” to be known,

to be real to another and cared for,

then there can be power in the effort to be right,

at the end of the school year we have a quality check,

as students, as parents, see themselves and their children

and feel whether we as a school were good for them

in “seeing” them and meeting them where they needed to be met,

I regularly see students and I can be near dazzled

by the brilliance of the light inherent within them

that can joyfully shine forth.

by Henry H. Walker

June 9, ‘15

sun and leaf

the first tomatoes!

the sun climbs higher and higher in the sky

and the forest pulls out all stops

to spread green below it 

in worship of the solar power

that drives all leaves,

in the garden, two weeks before Summer Solstice,

I add water to help the leaves double and redouble themselves

to make their own versions of hay while the sun shines:

buttercrunch lettuce still graces us and resists bolting,

potatoes are near fullness in the ground,

blue and black berries approach their color and sugar,

sugar snap peas are crisp and sweet,

the kiwi fruit are small and swelling on the vine,

squash and cucumber, okra and bean, race to be ready,

and the first cherry tomatoes, both red and yellow, just now ripen,

while grape and chestnut are in flower,

pumpkin race to be ready to flower,

while all our garden, vines, and trees matter to us,

the tomato is the real queen, started by seed inside in mid-winter,

and now ready to celebrate summer with unmatched flavor.

by Henry H. Walker

June 8, ‘15

4 advisees move on to high school

Daniel

a challenge comes,

and we are tested,

and how we respond gives us a chance 

to prove ourselves,

Daniel finds challenges 

each and every day

and he meets each head-on

with a mind so sharp it cuts,

with a heart so full it overflows,

with a soul so good

that entropy has no chance against him.

by Henry H. Walker

June 4, ‘15

Mateo

a smile that can melt you

even when you know 

there could be mischief behind it,

a heart that cares for all,

a mind that learns quickly and deeply,

an athlete who bonds with each team

and loves to run into excellence,

may he always leap for his best

like he does for a frisbee.

by Henry H. Walker

June 4, ‘15

Matthew

within the bud the flower waits,

and then releases into bloom,

in his digital story he describes a younger age

when voices inside held him back,

and then throughout middle school

he learned to deny those negative voices,

this year

the student,

the athlete,

the friend,

has given himself fully into bloom,

and, now, the bloom of his self is wonderful!

by Henry H. Walker

June 4, ‘15

Mia

a perfectionist who gives her all 

to her classes,

to her friends,

to her dance,

to her acting,

to herself,

Oliver last year,

a "peacock" leader in a play this year,

no one gives herself more fully to life than Mia.

by Henry H. Walker

June 4, ‘15

like at the end of a marathon

at the end of the year

school consumes me at the end of the year

as classes wind down 

over 80 reports on kids need to be written,

then I climax my effort,

taking 20 kids into the wild of the mountains:

making the effort for an 11 mile hike,

writing, sharing, living,

and then I have a break before the final week,

it’s like I’ve run a marathon,

and then I stop, dead,

in the night all the clutter of my psyche

rises up to remind me

that there’s spring cleaning to do in my interior:

difficult losses and changes and doubts to process

now that I have time to notice them

and no longer so much frenetic activity to repress them,

I feel that I am of worth

when I connect, when I do,

and when I’m past the frenzy

of being there for my students,

for my family,

really for anyone,

I feel lost, adrift, bereft,

now it’s time to deal 

with the rest of the lists

I’ve ignored in the primacy 

of the moments these last months.

by Henry H. Walker

May 24, ‘15