Contact Tracing
shy handshake
pat on the back
ponytail tug
hand-over-hand cursive
fist bump
high five
side hug
wave goodbye through the window of the bus
wave hello through the computer screen
contact secure
heart to heart
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020
Molly has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Nix the Comfort Zone.
Our days were filled with so many contacts, we barely gave them a thought. Your poem nails it, though, Mary Lee. "Heart to heart" is the one that truly matters.
ReplyDeleteThat's EXACTLY what I was thinking as that list poured onto the page of my notebook: I took all of that glorious casual contact for granted. Now I understand how precious, even sacred those close contacts are. Luckily, our hearts remain closely tied.
DeleteThis makes me feel wistful... so much we've taken for granted. Will you see your students again, Mary Lee? And this, your last year... I know this is not how you expected it to be. Thinking of you. xo
ReplyDeleteLuckily, it's NOT my last year. (It is for Franki.) It's my penultimate year...probably. We haven't heard the official word yet, but it seems incredibly likely that we won't go back. :-(
DeleteYes. Tears.
ReplyDeleteI can't cry though I need to. I decided today to stop with the idea of small-group Zooms for literacy and math to go with my whole-class meetings and just to schedule one-on-ones with my littles. But it's the
ReplyDeletelap-lean
shoulder-guide
hold-hands-to-make-a-circle
triple-trike
London-Bridge
dry-your-eyes-full-on-comfort
that I'm missing.
It's like I'm starving. I had no idea.
I haven't been able to make small groups work either. But they love their whole class meets. So that's what they get.
DeletePoignant and only too true. So much we took for granted before. Small gestures mean a lot, and I love your heart-to-heart statement.
ReplyDeleteJust a few words...and such a huge meaning. Yes, seeing the kids, getting that love from the kids. I feel like it's a vitamin I'm missing. I'm glad you can meet with your kids. As a librarian...very few are seeking us out right now. Thanks for the ray of sunshine.
ReplyDeleteThese few words resonate with me so much, Mary Lee. Oh how I miss the grade 1 students I work with - tying their shoes, holding hands on the way to the lunchroom, their weight against my shoulder when I read to them. Never again. For now it is just the wave through the computer screen for the foreseeable future. Tears.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your heart reaches your students through screens... but the way you describe the loss of all the day-to-day contact is heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteThis tugs at the heart as I closed up my room this week. Heart to heart contact is what we are now holding on too, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI don't have students, but I do have elderly parents. The heart to heart is still there, for sure, but I do miss the physical touching.
ReplyDeleteI read the article about Contact Tracing, after reading your tweet about it… What a mess, and I love the love in your poem,
ReplyDelete"ponytail tug" I remember these, and "high five"
Starting my 2 online teaching classes this week–hope I can give them something–fill some empty area. Thanks Mary Lee.
I'm thankful your final two lines ended on a positive note. That heart to heart is what it's all about, but my-oh-my the rest resonates with loss. My sister's four-year-old granddaughter no longer tries to run to hug her when she has a "end of driveway visit" but instead offers "We can air hug, Mooma!". Somehow that seems even sadder.
ReplyDeleteI know that every one of your students misses those loving goodbyes, Mary Lee, and I'm sure you do, too. My fifth grade granddaughter is doing okay, seems to understand how things are, but the second grade granddaughter is really struggling. Her mom tells me she cries when their session is over. She misses her class & teacher so much, & maybe just this part, those contacts? Thanks for knowing how important it is.
ReplyDeleteI love your litany of small touches, Mary Lee. And how you're still making those connections, just in different ways.
ReplyDeleteMary Lee your poem is filled with teacher-heartfulness. It is sad for teachers that they cannot connect & communicate wit children beyond a screen but there can still be heart-touching moments as you noted in your poem.
ReplyDeleteSo many contacts that we took for granted and now miss. I am grateful for the technology that allows the heart to heart, but will be even more grateful when we can experience those contacts again.
ReplyDeleteI read this poem yesterday, and am coming back to comment tonight. It made me cry both times. It's perfect. I miss my kids. I miss hugs, and the way they lean in when they need a hug, but think they are too old.
ReplyDeleteSweet reminders of touch as we avoid contact. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteTeacher love shines through this list poem!
ReplyDelete