Today I learned about the home life of two students. Their struggles in school point to the hard-to-hide troubles at home. Yet, they are not free to tell their stories...they are bound by the love they feel for their parents, no matter how painful that love might be....
Somebody wanted... but... so....
It sounds so simple when we say it
in our smooth teacher voices,
and it really is! Some amazing teacherperson crafted
this 'barebones story frame,'
giving birth to
"The dinosaur wanted a friend but nobody liked him. So he met a
dragon and they became friends. The End!"
And so we teach children...to write their own tales
in little books with bright yellow construction paper covers,
kids' tongues concentrating, sticking out, poised between teeth,
as they try so hard to remember the difference
between 'b' and 'd.'
Toothless smiles gleam
on the 'About the Author' pages
they dictate to you...another fairy tale...for some...
But for others...their stories remain
locked behind their eyes,
eyes wise beyond their years, lives already eroded by tears
that replace bathtime.
They cannot tell their truths because
they are too real,
too scary,
and all their fault, all their fault...they think,
over and over,
"all my fault, all my fault, all my fault, all my fault!"
before they even understand what fault means.
Somebody wanted to get high, but they didn't have any money because it all goes to the kid, so they sold their daughter's medication to get more money so they could get high,
high,
higher than the sky,
But why?
why mommy why
can't I get breakfast at school, mommy?
I'm hungry mommy and today's french toast day, mommy,
can't I get french toast mommy, like the others? NO! Not today! Go away!
Then in her classroom, when the teacher asks her
if she wants breakfast, she says a quiet
"no thank you, not today,"
and goes away
to hang up her backpack with last week's papers
mangled and forgotten in the bottom,
and the teacher goes on to the next name, while the girl thinks her story
inside herself...
...somebody wanted some breakfast, but her mommy said no,
so she wouldn't get any breakfast. The end.
That's the story
behind locked eyes, a barebones story
that leaves her alone, and hungry and wondering why
her stories are never about
dragons and dinosaurs
becoming friends.
The end.
