Thanksgiving Break

Wow. I'm so tired of school. Tomorrow is my last day and then I get a week off for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited! I was inspired to write a poem today after eating lunch on campus on a study break. It's the simple, mundane things in life that are worth writing about sometimes. I'll post it here for you guys to see:

The Crossroads: Make a Connection

“This one’s my favorite,”

a large, toque blanche-donned woman whispers

in my ear as I stand statue-like

at the soup bar.

“It took us forever to make.”

I nod in respectful awe as I

delicately agitate the contents of

the large silver pot labeled:

“Cherokee Pepper Pot Soup”

The okra spoke to me first, then the carrots.

I sit alone in the most isolated corner

I can find,

slurping incessantly,

shocked by each swallow,

reviewing my mental “to do” list:

read Mosiah 2 en español

write annotated bibliography

read/ write poetry

call Kristin

make Scotty a birthday card

solidify ride for weekend

take a fat nap

BYU-Idaho breathes around me and

I peruse, I speculate, I eavesdrop.

The two girls to my right catch my attention:

“My teacher mentioned the KKK today,”

the one wearing navy and an interesting headband says.

“In American foundations he singled me out

because I’m black, and asked ‘what do you think?’”

she recounts.

“I was like: ‘I don’t know. What do YOU think?

I didn’t live in that time.’”

Her Latin friend laughs approvingly,

affirming the absurdness of the situation.

They discuss how strange it is to be

colored at BYU-Idaho

I laugh at what a remarkable place the Crossroads is

and smile, mouth full of Cherokee pepper pot.