Click.
Click.
Click. Click. Tap.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
10:00.
Welcome to Zoom class everyone.
Pop a thumbs up emoji onto your screen if you can hear me.
Enter this code for Pear Deck: PDEFY
Yes, you’ll need two screens.
Open a new window or grab another device.
Click.
Click,
Click. Click. Tap.
I see we have twelve participants joined.
If you’re having trouble go ahead and unmute your mic –
Ask for help
I want to rise up from the chair at my kitchen table –
It’s like a reflex.
I want to circulate
To work the room – front-to-back, for proximity
To keep my index and middle fingers
Carefully placed
On the carotid artery (of my lesson)
Is it beating too slow?
Is it beating too fast?
Has it faded away completely?
Who looks tired, confused, panicked?
Who is taking notes and who is shopping on Amazon?
All I can see is a tiny square. I want the bigger picture.
But I’m stuck.
And I feel lost
There’s no soft flesh of classroom
To push my fingers beside the windpipe.
These screens are between us,
Making us a little less human – a little less connected.
So I take a deep breath, sitting here at my kitchen table
With a pink blanket draped over the window to block out the light
And ask for another thumbs up emoji.
