DaveKemper.net

you were the strong and silent type
excelling in the classroom
and staying clear of the popularity traps

you signed up for wrestling,
the most demanding sport
the school had to offer

and night after wintery night
you and a few other sturdy boys
worked out on an old stage, head to head,
testing your strength and your pluck

during your freshmen year
you were named  captain of the football team
and class president as well

after that I lost track of you until later
when I heard that you had left school
to get married and become a father

***************************************
I only knew you for one quick year
when you were just becoming a young man
so I have no way of really knowing
how your story plays out

but I admired how you worked
your way through eighth grade

just as  I admired the determination
of the  Kentucky farm boy we read about
in the Jesse Stuart stories–    
  
   who shouldered a shitload of chores
   walked a long path to school
   and performed beyond grade level

and I want to believe, and will believe,
that you went about your new life
in much the same way       

Reni,
because of your emerging womanhood
you must have felt no end
of daily discomfort and embarrassment

how degrading it must have felt
to be sitting next to pint-sized boys
who, in terms of maturity,
were still chasing each other at noon break

and how demoralizing it must have felt
to watch girls building friendships
and feeling wanted

yet I could always count on your metal-heavy
smile (naturally, you had to have braces)
before class and your eager responses
during daily lessons

and I can still picture you wearing
large white T-shirts and jeans–
an appropriate outfit for someone
trying to cover up and to fit in

****************************************
dear girl,
you belonged within the warmth of home
alongside your parents and extended family
free from hurtful school experiences

you could have studied there
and, at some point, worked too
perhaps clerking in a local store
taking the time to listen to lonely customers

in such familiar circumstances
you could have grown into adulthood
in a more humane way