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Freedom
high school algebra class; May 12, 1993
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A breeze blows in; it wisps my hair,
And flutters papers in the air;
It carries, with the scent of rose,
A dream—and takes one as it goes.
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Upon its wings the gentle breeze
Transports sweet memories with ease,
Unloads them on my furrowed brow,
And makes me smile, I know not how.
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Bright sunlight spills where on my sheet
Of paper work lies incomplete—
Forgotten—every thought of math
Is drowned within a sunshine bath.
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I drift from classroom’s tight confines,
Far from all angles, dots and lines;
Aloft on dreams of land and sea…
My classmates toil, but I am FREE!
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Lines Penned in a College
Engineering Class, February 10, 1999
It seems a crime to sit inside
__On such a day as this,
And cruelly thus to be denied
__A taste of natural bliss.
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To keep foul, stormy weather out
__These walls, I deem, were built,
But not to keep us in to pout,
__And suffocate, and wilt.
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To hold a class on such a day
__Is more than just a crime—
It fritters sunny hours away
__And wastes my precious time!
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Addendum
While learning all that makes life work,
__I wear a bitter smile,
For just beyond these four walls waits
__All that makes life worthwhile.
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Live!
perspective of a recent graduate, October 4, 1999
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Run barefoot in the dewy grass,
For life is fleeting—youth will pass.
__Climb trees! Scrape knees!
__Chase bumblebees!
Cast inhibitions by the way,
Leave work awhile; come out and play!
__Come splash and wade
__In sun and shade;
Catch bugs and frogs and polliwogs;
Cross laughing streams on fallen logs.
__Embrace the earth,
__Indulge in mirth,
Come revel in fair nature’s worth!
The sun will set, the day will end,
There will be tasks and chores to tend,
But life is now! Life is today!
Oh, fritter not your youth away
In poring over textbook’s page—
Wisdom and knowledge come with age.
So now, while breath and life are yours,
Set time aside from cheerless chores
To stroll through sunshine, race through rain—
Too much drudgery is vain.
Do your duty and behave,
But be not your duty’s slave;
Much time to simple pleasures give—
Be young, be free, be happy—LIVE!
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Scholars of the World
perspective of a homeschooling mother, April 6, 2022
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Within the sanctioned classroom, at the age
Prescribed, the pupils sit in tidy rows;
They reap stale knowledge from the musty page
And only learn, at most, what teacher knows.
The school of life, I deem, is better fit
Than any four-walled cell to educate,
And should one happen to excel in it,
The honor earned therein must hold more weight.
As under open sky, through endless space,
The scholars of the world soar wild and free,
New paths to understanding they may trace
Through trial, error, curiosity…
__By infinite curriculum surrounded,
__Their minds expand and flourish on, unbounded.
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Spring Decree
April 3, 2023
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As the one in charge of learning,
I have the authority
to declare my springtime yearning
is the top priority.
Waiting books won’t suffer loss
if we leave them for the garden,
so, as teacher and as boss,
I’ve proclaimed our royal pardon.
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A Pennsylvania native now residing in Colorado, Anna J. Arredondo is an engineer by education, a home educator by choice, and by preference, a poet. She also has poems published (or forthcoming) in The Lyric, Time of Singing, Light, Blue Unicorn, Better Than Starbucks, and WestWard Quarterly.
Anna, I enjoyed these and will have to pass them on to my favorite graduates (as for those currently sitting in my college courses – I’m not sure I’m confident enough in my ability to make my subject matter compete with the joys of nature 🙂 ! ! !
Jeremiah, thank you for your comment. If your subject matter can’t compete with the joys of nature, it’s no reflection on you — that’s some pretty stiff competition! I’m glad you enjoyed these and are thinking to pass them along.
A thoughtful and reflective chronology of poems, Anna.
Thanks for the reads.
Thank you, Paul. It was fun to trace this theme back through the years.
Anna, I am enchanted with your early set of poems that are refreshingly free, uninhibited, and reflect your joy and happiness even while in a classroom or escaping from one either mentally or physically escaping the classroom as a graduate. Then your wonderful approach to educating others is on display as teacher and boss giving them opportunities to hopefully enjoy nature. Your poems are delight and so are you.
Thank you, Roy, for your generous comment! I somewhat miss that starry-eyed younger version of me, but teaching my kids does give wonderful opportunities for renewed reveling in creation.
Lovely sentiments! Thank you.
Thank you, Talbot!
Enjoyed all the poems, Anna. Your ease with words showed up early and continues.
Thank you, jd. I’ve always been fond of words. I love this quote from W.H. Auden: “A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.”
You never fail to give us food for thought. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Sally. I would say the same of you from all of your poems that I’ve seen here.
Anna, this ‘Education Outside the Box’ series is truthful, beautiful, and speaks to me in a poetic voice of wisdom, enhanced by rhyme, rhythm and rapture. I love your melodious forms, but most of all I love the William Blake ‘Songs of Innocence’ feel. I can relate to every word you’re saying… especially in times such as these. Yet I am fully aware that one has to endure the pain of cerebral toil to reap the pleasure of such fine literature. Thank you!
Thank you for your encouraging words, Susan. I’m especially flattered by your sensing a William Blake “Songs of Innocence” feel. It is hard to raise ‘innocents’ or extend their years of innocence in the ‘times such as these’ that you mention. For their protection, we’re forced to warn them of the war currently raging around them, and make them marginally aware of the insanity being swallowed wholesale and peddled by so many. But we waste as little time as possible on the craziness. I’m so thankful that we are able give our children an education minus the brainwashing (and plus frequent excursions to enjoy the wonders of God’s creation).
Anna, what a wondrous sequence of poems. I especially love how in “Live!”, after the fine, strict meter of the previous poems, there’s a tangible sense of breaking free, of joy, as you finally escape the classroom. And now, as a homeschooling mother, you can do something about it!
I also wrote poetry in highschool and before, and now I’m beginning to homeschool my kids, so I particiarly resonated with these poems. I look forward to reading more.
Alena, thank you for your comment. It sounds like we have some things in common! I’m pleased to hear you are embarking on the homeschooling journey. For me it has been both an ongoing challenge and an enormous joy.
Anna, I thoroughly enjoyed these life-lesson poems. I truly love your poetry, you are a natural poet if there is such a thing. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Norma!
Anna, I like your Addendum especially. In my homeschooling experience, park days were so necessary for mothers that they were more regularly scheduled than recess in government institutions. All to the good, and education outside the box also puts our students way ahead in life skills. Would love to know how poetry places in your program!
Margaret, thank you for your comment sharing how these fit in with your own homeschooling experience. I like how you pointed out that park days are “necessary for mothers,” not just the children. And when I’m short on time or organization (most often, both), I’m thankful for our back yard!
Poetry fits in less than I’d like, ideally, but more than it would in other classrooms, I think. Its presentation is sporadic, but passionate, and it is generally well-received. My older two have and do try their hands at writing poetry of their own, and show some promise there…
I enjoyed these poetic reflections on one of best vocations a woman can have. My favorite is “Spring Decree.” The world needs more such royal pardons.
Amen to “one of the best vocations a woman can have”! Thank you for your comment, Monika.