Right now,
there is a little boy
sitting on a bus
with flowers in his hand,
bouncing up and down,
excited to give them to
his favorite teacher
in the whole wide world
when he gets to school.
But it won’t be me.
Because I’m not there.
He’ll wonder where I am
and his excitement will die
and it will wither down
just like the flowers
he places on my desk
because I can’t go get them.
and that breaks my heart.
Right now,
there’s a little girl
holding on to a bag
with a mug she picked out
and a card with her name
that she has been working
hard to learn to write
by herself all year,
eager to give it to
the teacher that makes
her smile and laugh all day
but it won’t be me
because I’m not there.
She’ll wonder where I am
and why I’m not with her
to make her smile
and to laugh all day.
And that breaks my heart.