New Poetry by S.F. Wright

Lani

Lani sits

In the back;

Stares at

Her Chromebook

With the intentness

Of one watching

A riveting

TV program—

Which is probably

What she’s doing.

She’s not a

Disciplinary problem;

Arrives to class

On time;

Rarely asks to go

To the restroom.

She sometimes

Does work;

Yet most of the time

She sits in class,

Here

But not

Here.

When Lani’s grade

Fell to a 47,

I emailed her

Mother;

Less than an hour later,

I got a response:

Thanks for letting me know.

Will talk to her.

A week later,

Lani’s still got a 47.

I haven’t sent

Another email.

I’ve been teaching

For years now;

And have a sense of

My students;

Lani should be okay—

“Okay” meaning

She’ll pass,

If barely,

This marking period,

Probably the year.

She will—

I see it already—

A day or two before

The marking period ends,

Work hastily,

Turn in overdue work

At the last minute.

I’ve seen it

Before.

My job

Often feels

Like something

On repeat;

And Lani,

And those

Before and

After her,

Will forever be a

Part of this

Rerun.

A blurry show it is,

One that often

Doesn’t make much sense;

Yet in the midst of

The static,

I hope that

I act in a way

That I myself

Would like

To watch.

- © S.F. Wright 2023

S.F. Wright lives and teaches in New Jersey. His work has appeared in Hobart, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, and Elm Leaves Journal, among other places. His short story collection, The English Teacher, is forthcoming from Cerasus Poetry, and his website is sfwrightwriter.com.