A Poem for Students

There is a poem being written by that girl

Who is always so quiet that you are afraid

she might never speak to you, might never ask you questions,

She hides in her big hoodies, her slim shoulders disappearing

Into folds of fabric that you think must weigh her down,

But that she uses to feel safe.

And then she smiles when you ask her the name of her raccoon

And when she says Rex, you feel the door open just a crack.

There is a poem being written by the boy

Who always acts out, getting up out of his seat

At the most inopportune times,

When you are just starting to deliver instructions,

When you want everyone listening, he is up and moving.

But you don’t know he has undiagnosed ADHD

His mom won’t get him tested, worried it will label him

That he will be ostracized for his differences.

And when he comes back as a 9th grader,

Even bigger than you remember, telling you that you are still his favorite

All those times you could have throttled him just melt away.

There is a poem being written by the girl

Who everyone calls sassy and rude

Who is unafraid to use her voice to stand up for herself

She wants to write a letter to the principal

About all the things she sees are wrong with her school

Because she cares deeply about her school

And she wants to see it flourish

You encourage her to do it, write the letter

And you offer to proofread it for her

The schools shut down a few weeks later,

Did that letter ever get written?

There is a poem being written about that kid,

You know that kid, who came to the school from that school

The one with the reputation for having “bad kids”

The one where the demographic is mostly Black and Latinx students

And now he is being labeled as a “bad kid”

Because his culture does not vibe with the way this school runs

Because he is one of the few students of color in his classes, let alone the grade

Because he does not hear questions as suggestions

Because he has been told over and over again that he is not a good student

But who shines when you tell him his poem is beautiful

There is a poem inside that kid

Who would rather draw than write any words

Who cried during a memoir activity

The one where you thought you lost him for good.

But then one day you give him the chance,

To write a poem about himself and illustrate it

And you see him mirror a mentor text, and share about his life,

His dad’s alcoholism, his mother’s constant fight to survive,

His brother who he calls annoying but says he still loves

And the pictures that cover the page are his, his mind

Sprawled out across a page, a space safe for him to share.

There is a poem being written by that girl

Who says that we do too much work,

Who says she hates your class,

But when you ask her to write a poem.

She writes about her anxiety,

She cracks herself open for you to see,

For her peers to see and shows all her insecurities,

She trusts you and so she writes.