Jesse never felt smarter than at age six
the only first grader in a fifth-grade poetry workshop—
when they wrote about their neighborhood
his poem by far the best in the room
and he the first volunteer to stand and read it.
The big kids clapped for him and cheered.
He remembered this at twenty-one
when we crossed paths on Commerce Street.
Hey, hey! Could I ever feel like that again?
It was my Best Day!
Now working two jobs two kids to support
Yes I think so
Do you read to your kids?
Do you have a library card?
Do you use it?
No No No
Start there, Jesse! You knew the truth
when you were six that your street was magical
and full of mountains
though it was utterly flat.
You wrote about the rooster’s songs
and the dog’s barkingful wonder.
You wrote Who do you think I am am am?
And knew instinctively it was more powerful to say “am”
three times than one—
You are still that person.
~ from Voices in the Air (Greenwillow Books, 2018)
