Tom M.

True Teacher

True Teacher

(A short letter/poem to the one teacher who made a difference for me, who revealed my competence to me.)Dear seventh-grade math teacher, you had no idea – the family violence endured by one of your students. I was a C/D student before your...

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The Package

The Package

THE PACKAGE(A short poem about my struggle to face the ugly truth about family dysfunction.) A package appears on my desk,addressed to me.It’s from my parents.I see the label: Family Secrets. I know the rules:do not open under any circumstance.But the package calls to...

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There’s No Place Like No Peace At Home

There’s No Place Like No Peace At Home

My first memory of daddy-Monster: I’m three years old; he beats me as I lie in bed. There’s no place like screaming myself to sleep. Daddy-Monster locks me in the scary basement when I’m four or five. There’s no place like knowing I’m safer behind a...

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Alien Invader

Alien Invader

Twenty-four years old: Someone treats me with contempt. Someone views me as worthless. Someone disrespects me. A bureaucrat treats me as an object – a thing to be discarded. Anger churns within. Without thinking, I retaliate. A...

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