Schooled

      by Jennifer Sutherland, Susan Burch, and Michael Dylan Welch

First published in Hedgerow #130, April 2020, page 9. Written 16 October 2015 at the Haiku North America conference in Schenectady, New York.

first day of school—
the cover stretched
across the piano                                                       Jennifer

        the long haul
        to the principal’s office                                    Susan

a touch of frost
at the classroom window . . .
the teacher’s drone                                                 Michael

        the star by her name
        erased from the whiteboard                          Jennifer

pop quiz—
the tick tick tick
of the clock                                                               Susan

        sun through the fog
        recess bell                                                        Michael