Deb Koen

Truth to Power

A shot in the arm—quite an introduction to kindergarten for a five-year old. In 1960, the latest vaccine is dispensed by way of the school’s health office. The teacher assembles a line alphabetically, then parades us one-by-one toward the nurse. 

As I glance at my name tag, the tears begin to well up. I lightly tug at the teacher’s skirt. “Not me,” I whisper, barely audible.  “Aren’t you Debbie?” she asks. “Yes, but,” I croak. “You’ll be alright; it will soon be over,” she attempts to console, as she pivots me back to the procession.  

By the time I reach the nurse, I’ve mustered the courage to blast out, “The name tag is wrong! That’s not my last name!”  She confirms the mixup with the girl a few spots back, and, for what it’s worth, I am led by my scrawny arm to my rightful place at this moment in the world.

burdocks
sticking to
my story   

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About the Author

Writer and nature lover since childhood, Deb Koen eventually combined these two passions in haiku and haibun.  For inspiration, she draws on life in the Finger Lakes region of New York State and road trip adventures. Her collection of haiku is On the Planet (Free Food Press, 2018).

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