Possible Field Trips

A one-day excursion

To the Rubik’s Cube factory

Where each kid will get to make

Their own Rubik’s Cube

Which will promptly be sold

To a consumer

Thereby teaching them

About capitalism

And child labor laws

An afternoon trip to the theater

To see a production of Arcadia

Which we thought was a Shakespeare play

But which is, apparently, not a Shakespeare play

Which means we haven’t covered it at all in class

Which means we’ll have to adjust the curriculum

Which means we won’t get to The Glass Menagerie

Which means the children will never know

Who Tom Wingfield is

Or why he’s so upset

An overnight trip

To the home of noted 1920’s serial killer

Emson F. Donaldson

Who managed to murder everyone in his town

Over the course of three years

Using nothing but a salad fork

The children can visit all eight hundred murder sights

And partake in the reenactment of Emson’s last murder

Wherein he cornered the town’s final resident

A chicken plucker named Morris Conreebal

At Conreebal’s favorite henhouse

As they fall asleep

The sounds of screams will lull them into slumber

As the howls of the dead

Are piped through speaker systems

Placed throughout the town

This trip covers history, supernatural studies,

And important self-defense techniques

If they ever find themselves

Trapped in front of a henhouse

While being attacked by a salad fork-wielding maniac

A morning walk to the nearest donut shop

Where the children can look at donuts

And explain their allergies

To the people who make the donuts

And think about what kind of donuts they would eat

If they could be allowed to eat donuts

Without fear of an allergic reaction

To any of the hundred ingredients inserted

Into the modern gourmet donut

This trip offers insight into the culinary arts

And teaches us to be sensitive

To those who are allergic to various ganaches

A weeklong bike ride

On the back of a motorcycle

Where each child will be paired

With their very own Hell’s Angel

And get to experience a ride

From Houston to Detroit

All the while hearing the Angel’s interesting

And most likely problematic political views

Not to mention getting to spend six nights

In a variety of run-down motel rooms

And three meals a day

In diners that are on the verge of being shut down

Due to major sanitary code violations

This field trip covers bicycle safety

Public health, geography

And when they return

We’ll have a schoolwide assembly

To watch Easy Rider

Provided we get clearance

From the school board

Since the film has an R-rating

An overseas trip for the seniors

To the royal wedding

Of Prince Von Hein

Which will lead to a revolution

Where the seniors will learn

About upheaval

And dissidence

And the cost of wealth

In the modern age

Any student who actively helps

To topple the Von Hein monarchy

Will get extra points on their final exam

And will be excused from writing a paper

On their experience

Optional field trips during the spring semester

May include the following:

Kayaking in Appalachia

A Visit to the Local Tattoo Parlor

Setting Up Shop at a Sunday Flea Market

Wrestling with Grizzly Bears
Making a Documentary About Wrestling with Grizzly Bears

The Cheese Stands Alone: A Day at the Dairy Farm

Hanging Out on a Street Where Dylan Thomas Once Puked

All of these are enrichment activities

That help break up the monotony

Of day-to-day lesson plans

And give educators an opportunity

To give their students a glimpse

Into what could possibly be the real world

Depending on what their plans are

For after graduation

One student seems to be very interested

In Rubik’s Cubes

And was so enthusiastic

About the idea

Of seeing how they’re made

And where

And which colors go on which squares

She was slightly disappointed

To learn that she couldn’t keep the cube

Without paying the retail price

But learning how to be let down

Is sometimes

The most valuable lesson

Of them all

Taking Her In

I’m taking her in

Because she took care of Dad

It’s as simple as that

He could have married her

And made it easy on us

Because then she’d have legal entitlements

But since he didn’t want to go through all that

She’s left with nothing

And I find that--

I think that’s wrong

Kirsten disagrees with me
But then again

Our parents got divorced when we were seven

And she’s still not over it

I have no patience for that

And I’ll be--

I’ll be very honest about it

I just have no patience

And I have no interest

In worrying about anything

That relates to the dead

Dad is gone

Mom is gone

This woman is alive

And she gave our father baths
And changed his diaper

That’s--that’s a little graphic

I realize that

But it’s the truth

She’s owed something

And since Kirsten and Lindsey

Won’t let her move in with them

I guess it falls to me

The oldest

No surprise there

My sisters are selfish

I love them, but they’re selfish assholes

And they always have been

As soon as the will was read

Off they went

To spend the money

And there she is

Our father’s girlfriend

Sitting there

Not a dime to her name

Because she threw her whole life away

Taking care of him

Even I didn’t help

And I’ll admit to that

Dad and I were--

We were not close

I resented the way he treated Mom

And me

And my sisters

And frankly, the only way

I was going to take money from him

Even in death

Was going to be if I could spend it

In a useful way

And I found a way

I’m going to use his money

To take care of her

We don’t have to talk

Although we have spoken a few times

Since she moved

Across the hall from me

Turns out we get along

Pretty well

And I needed a roommate anyway

So this all worked out

About as well

As taking in

Your dead father’s girlfriend can

My sisters have their husbands

And their ex-husbands

And their husbands’ ex-wives

And their children

And their step-children

And their therapists

And I had this little house

With an extra bedroom

And…

And I wanted to know more

About my father

There were…

There were things

I wanted to understand

To try to understand

Do you know what I mean?

I thought maybe
She could help with that

But I’ll wait until she gets settled

Before I start in on all that

She’s still grieving

And I want to respect that

I should be grieving too

But I just can’t seem

To get around to it

Maybe one day

Maybe one day

I will

Five Houses, One Empty

Five houses, one empty

And the other ones

Want to know why

The cracked gray roof

That lets in the rain?

The broken glass

Among the grass

That grows too high

Only to die

But nothing that can’t be fixed

Nothing that can’t be cut

The empty house

Sits on a corner

Watching its windows

Fall down

The plumbing is fine

The wiring works

The driveway is spacious

And the rooms well-lit

Three of the other houses went

For seven figures

Just a year ago

But one house sits

And rests

And won’t be haunted

By anyone at all

Nobody’s ever been in

Nobody’s ever rapped on a door frame

Nobody’s ever seen the cellar

Up in January

The snow piles high

And the other four houses

Are tended to

With fires set

And blankets brought down

From closet shelves

The fifth house whistles

And lets the cold

Come in

Double past the hour

On any given night

An owl will wager

It’s safe

To make its way

Into

The lopsided attic

With its trunks, never opened

No telling how they got there

Nobody’s ever been in

Nobody’s ever

Nobody would dare

But there they are

The trunks

Covered in black paper

That can be torn by the beak

Of a barn owl

Or any kind of bird

That feels courageous

The owls fly in

And all that’s left of them

Are fine feathers

Scattered throughout the hallways

Where pictures should hang

Not because they’ve been harmed

But because nothing stays the same

Once it enters a place

That’s otherwise sealed

The owls become the dust

Or the chipped paint

Or the brick

Or a little bit of everything

The other four houses

Host gatherings

Parties

People

From the comfort of numbers

And the pride of punch

They look out at their cars

Somehow parked

Right in front

Of the empty house

No one is going home tonight

So make up the guest beds

Take up the linen

Hand out the extra towels

And wish them all good night

There is no danger

In a house that’s full

But an empty house

Can stretch its emptiness

To every other house

On the street

Until the hardest breath

Drops out of the lungs

And the kindest words

Choke the throat

One little guest

Hears a tapping on the window

And he knows it’s an owl

That managed to escape

The owl will fly

To each of the four houses

Looking to be permitted

But once you’ve flown

Through a battered coat of paint

And a broken pane

Nobody can let you in

Nobody can say

You’re welcome