Ben Nardolilli lives in Virginia. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, Pear Noir, and The Minetta Review. He has a chapbook: “Common Symptoms of an Enduring Chill Explained.” He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com.
Let America Be Wrong
Yes, I have a wide place
In a land that’s mine,
But I will not let it
Make a pack-horse of me
Or those who live there,
The flags we’ve hung,
All the songs for equality,
Pale at evening every time,
We ruin the wish, saying
“I’d never grab the land!”
We only whirl in the face
Of bricks others eat
For breakfast and dinner,
Workers are only to be
Bartered through their pay.
I am the pioneers, the poor
On relief pushed apart,
I’m the “we” you breathe,
When you claim to be
So weary of “I,” the free.
The Psychrophilic Journey
This story can involve the
whole class.
Allow students to invent ways
to exude the formation of a
relatively rigid outer coat.
Let students “float” about
and then become the center
of a snowflake that drifts to
the surface.
Let students drift in slowmotion,
to become seated on the floor.
Let students use their hands
to show the sunlight, the sand,
the warming of the particle
and the melting of the particle
down into the ice.Invite all students
to participate with partners.
Get everyone moving together,
showing gestures of being cold,
but enjoying it.
Have fun with the word
psychrophilic, which means
cold-loving.
Let the students stand slowly.
Let the whole group work
collaboratively together.
Let the outer group of students
create a protective coat, while
the inner group huddles.
Let the students transform
themselves from being
bacteria to being the team
of astrobiologists making this
discovery, and completing
the psychrophilic journey.
Let students create movements
like a water slide.
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