I once worked with a wonderful man
who had a way of "getting real" with kids
You don't need no man he'd insist to the girls
across a table in a disciplinary hearing
to tell you what to do
to make you feel good about yourself
to make you worth something
he said it so emphatically and yet with a supportive tone
like a parent clinging desperately to the hope
his daughter would find the inner strength
to realize she is smart, and beautiful,
and somebody. And he'd sit back and wait and listen
with patience and he never stopped trying
even if he found himself looking across the table at
the same girl twice or three times. It was as if the girl
across the table was one of his own, his daughter in the eyes
of every one of them. I don't know if he even had a daughter,
or any children for that matter. All I know is
many of the girls didn't know their fathers and he did
his best to be a positive man in their lives, sometimes
stoic, never emotional, but consistently there with the same message:
You are somebody. Start giving yourself, your body, your future
the respect and attention you deserve.
