Yes
Yes, is such a hope-filled word
I wish I had said Yes to Brant
when he was tangled in
the emotions of being an
8-year-old from a broken family.
Yes, to being the kind of teacher
that gave him permission to be
“naughty” (whatever that means)
Yes, to a memory of him not
shaking his head no.
What a beautiful, powerful poem of longing for a changed moment to give this little boy something you knew he needed at the time. These words are not layered with a lot of emotion, but the longing in your phrases here is palpable and my heart is with you. What a difficult call teachers sometimes have to make. This just broke my heart.