Image Credit by Markesha Tisby
by 2025-2027 Associate Member Markesha Tisby
I strolled
into a first-grade classroom.
I spotted
at first glance
what appeared to be
an inviting book nook.
Twin, black bookshelves
two kid-size, wooden chairs
and a shaggy black rug.
After further examination,
I noticed that the black, bare shelves
were maybe the correct color.
No authors or books would greet any visitors.
Not Elephant and Piggy.
Nor Captain Underpants.
Not Eric Carle.
Nor Derrick Barnes.
A sigh escaped.
And my shoulders lowered.
Knowing the space would soon become wallpaper
was just
too
unbearable.
Gone were the days of book talks,
trailers
and tilted heads
sharing a text.
When did this classroom become a book desert?
