Second Home
"After all, we all want our names called
through the streets all evening; we all want
to be lost, and looked for, and found again..."
- Maggie Anderson, "What We Want"
My mom's sending us away
to live in North Carolina
Lawanda reported the other week
We'll be leaving before the end of school.
The twins, Lawanda and Lawanna,
have been headache and heartache
little girls shining
stumbling
making their way
precariously
in this tough world.
On Friday we said our good-byes
scribbling phone numbers, addresses
Thank you, Lawanda said dramatically
Thank you for being there for me.
This has been like my second home.
But what's a second home?
You're just one face in the crowd
and you're always second to the
lesson or the test or the day's
everyday drama.
We teach you to read and write
a poem--
hoping that will
bridge the thin pain
this life passes out.
But a second home
can't follow you across miles
threading the phone lines
with kind words.
It doesn't roadtrip on your graduation
to hear your name.
It sits on this corner
waiting
for your return
with whatever news
of life
a prodigal child
might bring.
May you find home
again.
through the streets all evening; we all want
to be lost, and looked for, and found again..."
- Maggie Anderson, "What We Want"
My mom's sending us away
to live in North Carolina
Lawanda reported the other week
We'll be leaving before the end of school.
The twins, Lawanda and Lawanna,
have been headache and heartache
little girls shining
stumbling
making their way
precariously
in this tough world.
On Friday we said our good-byes
scribbling phone numbers, addresses
Thank you, Lawanda said dramatically
Thank you for being there for me.
This has been like my second home.
But what's a second home?
You're just one face in the crowd
and you're always second to the
lesson or the test or the day's
everyday drama.
We teach you to read and write
a poem--
hoping that will
bridge the thin pain
this life passes out.
But a second home
can't follow you across miles
threading the phone lines
with kind words.
It doesn't roadtrip on your graduation
to hear your name.
It sits on this corner
waiting
for your return
with whatever news
of life
a prodigal child
might bring.
May you find home
again.
posted by Emily at 6:58 PM
7 Comments:
How touching...you had more impact on those two than you realize. A "second home" meant they felt safe and important and cared about in your room, so no matter how busy or distracted you thought you were, you were reaching them in a very big way! And that feeling is something they can take with them wherever they go. Congratulations...that's what teaching is all about.
BTW, I love the way you wrote about them...very nice post!
i can't believe they're gone.
this is so sad. what a hard lesson of good-bye...
Nicely done - "the thin pain this life passes out" - and I like the way it turns by describing what a second home ISN'T rather than what it is. Touching and lovely.
Lawanna and Lawanda. I can see them in my mind. I hope they find a second home, another wonderful you, in North Carolina. I imagine you will always be in Lawanda's heart, the one of whom she will say, "I once had this incredible teacher..."
So beautifil. What a moving tribute. And the epigraph is amazing.
The girls were lucky to have you.
That's gorgeous and so, so moving. :)
I hope they're only so lucky to find another amazing teacher.
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