Bought my first Jeep on a Friday in March. I know the precise date of that infamous Friday because I’m a teacher. On that day, I put a red bin of files and papers into my silver-new Jeep. Admin promised we’d return to the classroom. But I blinked. And opened my eyes far away. IContinue reading “Dear Jeep Family,”
Author Archives: norealbalance
READ FIRST.
Whatever brought you here, consider fate possibility. I need help. You arrived here. I wrote so real people can experience the magic of unfolding in story. Link my words to them. Reader, you and I are connected by less than six-degrees. My words could be for you or your acquaintance. Now, the magic of unfoldingContinue reading “READ FIRST.”
Don’t Ever Tell Anybody Anything (But Here’s My Introduction)
I left home. I won’t tell where. Yet. I was born there. Parents, grandparents, too. I never left home. Not even for school. I raised family, worked hard; I had no reason to leave. Planned to die there. Until the day I heard the words, “You won’t like this.” I did not imagine leaving homeContinue reading “Don’t Ever Tell Anybody Anything (But Here’s My Introduction)”
To a Bullshit-Detector
You know bullshit. Of course, any observer could guess this from your recline in the desk, like Jimi Hendrix on a sofa at an intimate house party (your lidded gaze and smirk suggest similar indulgences). Your beauty has no effort–wild hair, untamed brows, a bit of extra hip weight. No effort to your uniform ofContinue reading “To a Bullshit-Detector”
To an F- Student
My class didn’t come easy for you. I’m not sure much of school did. When you reached for the answer to a question in class, it looked like someone reaching for tweezers dropped between the car console and driver’s seat cushion. Same look during any test. But every day after school, I’d hear your fluorescentContinue reading “To an F- Student”
To the Geo Tracker of the USA: Guess Which State This Is
I swore, at the age of twenty-five, I would never return. Ever. Even as an adult, when I overhear the name, or the two-letter abbreviation, I thrust myself into conversation and proclaim, “[Insert State] is the limp dick of the USA!” That is, until, my husband sat me down at the table and said, ”You’reContinue reading “To the Geo Tracker of the USA: Guess Which State This Is”
To the Family Living in MY Forever Home,
You lost the bidding war. But the comment you made — not to me or your realtor — made us accept your offer. It’s as if we understood each other without having met or spoken. As a matter of fact, the exchange of my property to you was practically poetic. But I’m a scientist. I don’t trust poetry.Continue reading “To the Family Living in MY Forever Home,”
To the Off-Beaten-Never-Did-Fit-In
I remember the look on your face when I announced my leave of absence to the class. It still haunts me. You waited until the end, mouth stretched wide, “Are you really leaving?” I explained it was only temporary. You shuffled locks, looked away, “But…I like how you use the earth to tell stories….” youContinue reading “To the Off-Beaten-Never-Did-Fit-In”
Dear Colleague (I apologize in Advance for My Poetry),
Poems aren’t my thing, but here’s an odyssey of a dream. I’ll write a ballad. Google says it counts as poetry. You love this stuff. But I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. When I pressed send for the letter of resignation to the job I thought I’d never leave, I fell into theContinue reading “Dear Colleague (I apologize in Advance for My Poetry),”
To the Board of Admissions,
I usually write letters of recommendations for my seniors. That kind of became interrupted in the Spring of 2020. I’d still like to write a letter for this particular student. I hope you understand its delay (the pandemic has been tough on us teachers). To whom it may concern: The hardest letters of recommendation to writeContinue reading “To the Board of Admissions,”
No Real Balance 