naked truth
here’s all I knew:
you were a no-nonsense father
and fundamentalist preacher by trade
but that was enough to put me on alert
for our parent-teacher conference
since your son was a little scamp
I remember hearing your cleated shoes
deliberately snapping down the hallway
long before I saw you
even with that,
I wasn’t prepared for your greeting
as you marched into my room:
just “I suppose you know what you’re doing”
only “I suppose you know what you’re doing”
(was this a conference or an inquisition?)
I’ve replayed that moment many times
and either asked for an apology
or countered in my own boorish way:
“I was wondering exactly the same thing about you”
or “Now I see why Adam acts the way he does”
I don’t remember how I replied,
but it probably confirmed what you suspected,
that I was clueless, a fraud, an impostor,
running a classroom scam
and too many years have passed to recall
what went on during the rest of the conference,
but I realize now that you had every right
to wonder if I was up to the job
I was so unskilled
and so in need of guidance myself
and perhaps more damning
so uninterested
in helping someone like your son