Orange

Orange

by Annie Huynh

written for the 2012 Invitational Summer Institute

Mom

peels an orange.

Her chapped hands

work

the thick rind

of her past,

her burden,

her freedom.

She lays out

the pieces –

trapped on a boat

for days

relentless waves

overwhelming her

sifting through the sand

for grains of rice

for a memory

welcomed by

winter wind

breaking through her

paper-thin clothes.

Eyes foggy

mouth steady

she hands me

the orange

ripe with hope

and the bitter

seeds

that bore it.

Mom

peels an orange.

Her hands

work

the thick rind

of her past,

her burden,

her freedom.

Annie Huynh is a third-fourth grade teacher at the Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School, where she specializes in reading, writing, and social studies. She has been an educator for seven years in a variety of settings including English as a Foreign Language in Taiwan, museum education, early childhood and elementary education. Areas of interest for her are literacy, bilingualism, and TESOL. She became a teacher consultant with the Philadelphia Writing Project in 2012.

From the PhilWP Summer Institute, I learned about the power of teacher writing, reflection, and the implications of teacher autobiographies on teaching and learning. As a result, using writing to explore the stories of our lives can bring to light a multiple perspective on teaching and learning that we have yet to explore. To build a learning community, the stories of our lives and the commonalities we share need to be known. This poem I shared before the institute as a way for people to learn about where I am coming from.