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117 f r o m c l u b : g r a n d d a u g h t e r p o e m s w i e t i e n She is worried about Wietien, a student new this week, who knows no English. Three first graders have been assigned as helpers, Briny for reading, someone for lunch, Landon for recess. They are learning colors. Briny points to a swatch. Can you say pink? Canyousaypink, he says back perfectly, which is pretty funny. During recess Landon plays with the boys, and Wietien stands to one side in one place for the half-hour. The girls do jump-rope, only girls there. What can she do about Landon’s not helping Wietien? If I were this concerned for some new person, or you, who looks leftout, the cities would glow inside their murk. Wietien is the best in class at math, better than anybody, because numbers are a universal language, she mimics her teacher, numbers and music. How about kickball and dodgeball, or just plain throwing back and forth? The play of old rivers through Alps Road Elementary is the music of this morning, among the mountains of these children, so fragile and carefully met. ...

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