April 24, 2025 This comes from a long conversation with one of my students yesterday. He hasn’t been successful in school. He mostly avoids school except for walking in the halls with friends but he says he is ready for something different.

Tiny Bird Finds His Wings

When we met

I would have bet

That you would never talk to me

You had that gaze

That hazy maze

That surrounded your aura

Alone you sat

You turned your back

On anyone who asked you a question

It has been over a year

You’ve become sincere

In your observations

Yesterday we asked why you stay

And your words began to fray

Spilling out the story

Of former glory

And friends

Now you see a future alone

With no home

No one to rely on

You said you were like a tiny bird

Who got slapped with a cow turd

That was horrible

Covering you up

You felt stuck

Yet warm and comfortable

There in the muck

You accepted your luck

And stayed to die in that filth

Believing that is what you built

And it is hard to see yourself any other way

Staying was a way to pay

Today is a new day

You want us to pull

Help you find full

And know there’s

A place that’s a safe space

Where you’re not encased

You are ready for some other school

Or plan, to help you be a man