Gray Matters, April 2025
April Reflections
Happy April!
Three reasons I love this month (not necessarily in this order):
- NCAA Final Four (women’s and men’s)
- the Masters golf tournament
- Poetry Month
Over the years, some of you may have heard me write or talk about the story of Capitol Hill Day School as a narrative arch. Our School’s history is rich with wonderful plot lines and characters. One person who holds a special place for me in our story is Reginald Dwayne Betts. Over several years, in the early 2000s, Dwayne led poetry workshops with Capitol Hill Day School 8th Graders. Today, Dwayne holds a degree from Yale Law School, is a McArthur Fellowship recipient, and founder of Freedom Reads (read more about his remarkable story here). Recently, Dwayne published his third book of poetry, Doggerel.
In honor of Poetry Month, I share a poem from Doggerel.
This Morning
I’ve never had this kind of attention,
The way my puppy leans into
The dawn air knowing something
Is waiting, weather the squirrel she
Never catches or the birds or a leaf
Flying through the air like a tossed
Treat. There is so much of knowing
When to wait for the smell of the wind
To announce what to do that I’ve never
Understood. & this morning, when
My puppy, who is now older, but just
Barely, than my youngest was when he
Learned to climb a tree & notice when
I’m away, this puppy is more miles
From me than my sons have ever been,
& I wonder if today her nose, when
Turned to the wind, searches for me.
In addition to my reasons above, April also brings the predictability of warmer weather, the emergence of flora (with apologies to allergy sufferers), and the anticipation of summer (my favorite season of the year). For me, I find hopefulness in these changes.
As we continue to navigate the uncertain beyond our walls, I remain grateful for Capitol HIll Day School. As educators, schooled in the foundations of human development, we very much appreciate that healthy communities thrive on stability and predictability. That is why in schools, and especially at Capitol Hill Day School, we strive to create learning environments that are as certain as possible. As we move into our last couple of months of the year I look forward to more of what we do best, joyful engagement, curious exploration, and warm connections.
