A Dragon-Riding Day (9/18/14)

bumper to bumper traffic on a city street
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I leave late. The traffic begins at the Garden State Parkway connector. The New York State Thruway, covered in fiberglass and steel, stretches into the blinding brilliance of sunrise. I arrive at work after 8, when I needed to get there well before.

taillights
the long gap in front
of the car before me

I turn my card. Maria stands at the long counter. Sandra is out. Five piles of hand-outs lie spread out before me. Maria needs me to select which ones to give out. By the time I finish, I have little time left to prep for my own first class.

morning class
ten handouts for
three who’ve shown

Third Period. I’m alone. Incessant talking, little progress. Fifth period: none. Bryan tells me to “shut the fuck up.” I have him escorted out.

so much noise
the stiffness
of my jaw

Periods in-between photocopying materials. Lunch spent making phone calls. Three-in-a-row after. Upon my return home, I encounter bumper-to-bumper traffic four miles from my exit.

last twilight
turning leaves
come into view

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Frank J. Tassone

Frank J. Tassone lives in New York City's "back yard" with his wife and son. He fell in love with writing after he wrote his first short story at age 12 and his first poem in high school. He began writing haiku and haibun seriously in the 2000s. His haikai poetry has appeared in Failed Haiku, Cattails, Haibun Today, Contemporary Haibun Online, Contemporary Haibun, The Haiku Foundation and Haiku Society of America member anthologies. He is a contributing poet for the online literary journal Image Curve, and a performance poet with Rockland Poets. When he's not writing, Frank works as a special education high school teacher in the Bronx. When he's not working or writing, he enjoys time with his family, meditation, hiking, practicing tai chi and geeking out to Star Wars, Marvel Cinema and any other Sci-Fi/Fantasy film and TV worth seeing.

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