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.