I See You

To the children who come to school everyday

Without proper clothing for the weather,

With no food in your bellies,

And when nobody at home has told you, “I love you”

Or let you know you’re worthy of their time and attention,

I see you

To the children who come to school

With bruises that you cleverly hide from me,

And emotional scars that run so deep,

You sometimes wonder if your momma is right

That you’re not worth the time and money they spend on you,

Or you brother is correct that the only way to survive is to join a gang,

Or your sister has a good idea when she says that the only way to feel complete

Is to find a boy to love you, though he uses you and hurts you,

And your father isn’t even there to tell you

That none of this is true,

I still see you

To the parents who abuse these children,

Telling them with words and deeds

That they don’t matter,

That they can never be enough for you,

And that life can never be any better for them

Than the horror that it is right now,

I see you, too,

Because once you were that child in someone else’s classroom

Believing the lies that you do not matter

And wondering if life could ever get better

To the people who walk in darkness

And have forgotten that you are a great light,

The brightest light,

The most wondrous light,

The light of life and love in the world,

I can still see you!

Your light shines so brightly here

And the only tragedy is

That you don’t see this yourself right now,

That somehow you have forgotten how to see

I so want to remind you how to see…

And to the Bright Child,

The one who sat in my classroom all those years ago

And wrote me sweet poems,

Laughing and smiling and joking every day,

The happiest and sweetest student in my classroom,

Though you’d already endured so many setbacks and horrors in your life,

Who grew to think that only darkness could ever be yours,

And who has now endured so many more tragedies

That some might say you no longer have a chance,

I

Still

See

You!

That light and laughter is still in there,

The heart of beauty and purity,

And though the path you’ve walked has not been easy

And you’ve not always made it easy on yourself,

You are still wonderful,

Still beautiful,

Still glorious

I see you!

And one day I know

You will see yourself again.