A beautiful girl child

In my classroom every morn

The minute my key turns the lock

I haven’t even set down my things

As she tells me how she feels,

What is up, what is down

Inevitably, the tales are sad and weave

A tale of discontent and depression

A mom so mentally incompetent

That she cannot be unselfish enough

To care for these needs of her girl

And a father who chooses not to

With blame implied

The mother’s cruelty haunts her child

“If only you were the kind of child I wanted,

If not for you and your needs, we would have more.”

As the words tumble out, the child is reduced

To a curled up lump, on a oversized office chair

Family services says their hands are tied

So, her teachers assume the role to teach this young girl

To cope with her life and learn to survive it

For in the end, she must learn to nurture herself

And to grow and thrive, and smile and laugh

And love, yes, love the life she has