backbone of the world's food supply "rural people" speak a universal language*

_______________

*In reference to statements made by John Kelly, White House chief of staff.


"They're overwhelmingly rural people in the countries they come from--fourth-, fifth-, sixth-grade educations are kind of the norm. They don't speak English...They don't integrate well, they don't have skills, Kelly said."
_______________

There are numerous problems with this attitude. First, it's a slap in the face against immigrants and everyone who lives in a rural area.

Second, opportunities are not equal. Education is not free. Certain groups are denied access to education because of their ethnicity or their income level. Immigrants want better opportunities for their children--opportunities that have been denied them.

And finally, since when is farming not a skill? Since when is hard work and honest labor not a skill? Immigrants do assimilate well, and I would argue that most make efforts to learn English.

xenophobia we are all immigrants from somewhere else

steamed broccoli greener after the water boils into nothing

Option Z

talk of the nobel peace prize before trump's next tweet

crayfish hunting the long shadow of an ozark hellbender*

same branch of cedar the song exchange between a cardinal and robin

overnight magic the new carpet of dandelions

park vending machine my coin rolls into clover

option z I need more letters

poetry slam first the wind, then the barn door

grief journal my last entry between cloudbursts

mushroom sightings the UFOs have landed

unmarked path a lone turkey joins me

home is wherever the groundhog decides to dig


______

Ozark hellbender is an endangered species of salamander

An American Spring

continuing rain the owl hoots anyway

no yellow brick road but the dandelions

sharp words I remove your eggshells from the sink

dirty dishes dirty laundry well at least everything matches

skunks under the porch my deodorant is useless

an american spring today's students are tomorrow's voters

another shooting another round of do-nothing politics

earth day festival my t-shirt glows in the dark

leg squats I'm tired of imagining there's a chair behind me

spring chill the list of flooded bridges I shouldn't be crossing

Stray

Random word: Stray

stray thoughts I lose myself in the shadow of a cedar


This concludes my random word, one-line haiku experiment.

Misplead

Random word: Misplead

expression of the car mechanic perhaps I've mispleaded my case

Whimsically

Random word: Whimsically

the fluted notes of a chickadee whimsically waking me from my slumber

Balbuties

Random word: Balbuties

Some dictionaries list this word as a synonym for "stammering." Others list it as a specific type of stammering where all consonants become "B" and "L".

day of uncertainties I stumble trying to say "balbuties"