Thomas Fucaloro is the author of two books of poetry published by Three Rooms Press, most recently It Starts from the Belly and Blooms, which received rave reviews. The winner of a performance grant from the Staten Island Council of the Arts and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, he has been on three national slam teams. He holds an MFA in creative writing from the New School and is a co-founding editor of Great Weather for Media and NYSAI press. He is a writing coordinator at the Harlem Children’s Zone and lives in Staten Island.

List of Apologies to All My Grade School Teachers and their Psychosis

1. I apologize for the face making,
the whisper welts,
the subconscious forest
I always decided to play in.
2. I apologize for the bureaucratic politics
keeping you from teaching me
all of our history, correctly
3. Not 1 single apple to repent
4. I apologize for my penmanship,
how I always tried to hide
the truth from you and myself
9. For not understanding
6. How to build