Friend

When a leaf
makes friends
with a river
a tree
must bid
farewell.

--Devin McDonough (4th grader from NYC)

Another Postponement of Destruction
by Henry Taylor

Banging out the kitchen door, I kicked
before I saw it a thick glass baking dish
I'd set outside for dogs the night before.
It skidded to the top step, teetered, tipped
into an undulating slide from step
to step, almost stopped halfway down, then lunged
on toward concrete, and I froze to watch it
splinter when it hit. Instead, it kissed
the concrete like a skipping stone, and rang
to rest in frost-stiffened grass. Retrieving it,
I suddenly felt my neck-cords letting go
of something like a mask of tragedy.
I washed the dish and put it in its place,
then launched myself into a rescued day.

Feet are sliding
heart is rising
NDI! NDI! NDI!
Im pulled out of class the second time
put in the hall
to learn from the emptiness
but NDI is next its next period
its my next life
I whisper it slowly in the hall
keeping myself to myself
feet sliding in my shoes
heart quietly waiting to rise

Efran, NDI dancer, 2008