Footloose In Hallway Three

by Daniel García Ordaz

“For the LORD takes delight in his people; 

he crowns the humble with victory.”

~ Psalms 149:4

Jorge steers his wide, shaggy broom 

Like a graceful ice skater,

Slicing and curving around student desks,

Delivering the school from the congregation of dust.

A time to brush, a time to sweep.

A time to wipe, a time to dance.

This is the remix.

He waltzes, mops, and waxes

From classroom to classroom to hallway

Emptying trash cans teeming with the wretched refuse

Of first-world American school rooms: 

Unrecycled plastic bottles,

Scarcely-used pencils, 

Rejected plastic-bagged waffles and breakfast fare, 

Discarded after-school snack Lunchables,

Clean sheets of unused wide-ruled paper.

In a world of his own, he can be heard 

Before he’s ever seen.

His custodian’s cart doubling

As his deejay station—

Totally tubular ‘80s tunes emanating 

From a portable speaker.

His playlist toggles from American pop to 

Mexican and Latin pop radio ballads:

José José meets the Thompson Twins.

Meets Camilo Sesto meets Cyndi Lauper.

Nelson Ned meets The Pet Shop Boys.

This is the remix.

I wonder if,

When the students and faculty leave for the night, 

Jorge ever pulls a Harrison Bergeron—

An imaginary ballerina in tow—

And kisses the school’s ceiling in a vertical leap of sheer joy.