The Only Place That wants Him

I sit on my porch in the dusk-dark evening,

Wanting to forget the reality of my day,

But my thoughts soon wander,

To one of my students, whose story is tragic.

His alcoholic mother doesn't want him except for his SIS check.

Depression envelops him and sends him into the night,

Alone with his I-Pod on a bench in a deserted park.

No one at home even notices he's gone,

From his bed of blankets on the floor of a cold garage.

He exists in the in-between world,

Between those who are profoundly handicapped,
And those who can manage to get by,

Mainly the difference is..he knows it.

So the only place that seems to want him is the streets,

Those there will welcome him and give value to who he is.

The gang leaders use him to steel and run drugs,

They convince him that they are family;

That they will be there for him.

But they run away when the cops show up,

But treat him like a hero when he comes out of lock-up.

"Cause he did it all for their cause,

And hen learns to be a part of it all,

This he can do, it's easier than reading and math.