As a teacher
I often look out into an ocean of faces
On the mornings when the tide is low
I can see hands rise like coral clusters jutting out of the water
Hesitant and Scarce
As if afraid to be scorched by the sun’s rays
As if the sun had not already raised
the temperature of their ecosystem
How are they to thrive in these conditions?
When students are conditioned to calcify themselves into a 2x3 desk
Notions of what nation they belong to
Coat their minds like thick layers of sediment
Suffocating the knowledge that they are more than an American possession.
In my classroom.
I want thoughts to swim through their minds like fish
About what they wish this island could become
Open their eyes to what it means to decolonize
Imagine a future unpolluted by foreign power
Where the plastic bags and soda cans of colonization
Can no longer cause contamination in their waters
I want ideas to ebb and flow
Like waves from brains to paper to plans to progress
There is no progress without them
There is no Guahan without them
Their voices will be heard for generations
They are the makers of nations
The care takers of our island’s
Past
And present
And future
These students hold all of the power
They are this island’s protectors
Together
They will build a community
Defend our people against tsunamis
that threaten our democracy
Grow into a reef of leaders and dreamers
Determine a future they see for themselves
That tells the world that Guahan
Is here to stay
They will surround the island
Vibrant
and Vast
and Unyielding
and it is our job
to ensure our corals
Are thriving