Family Reunion
Julie Buffaloe-Yoder
There’s a first grade boy
in a Superman t-shirt.
Freckles, brown cowlick,
two front teeth missing.
Broken arm, black eyes.
.
There’s a father, thirty five,
blue suit and tie, new shoes,
pretty shaved face, saying
all the right things in
Anger Management class.
.
There’s a mother
too scared
to say a word.
.
There’s a social worker
who says it’s her job
to reunite the boy
with his father’s fist.
.
.
.
Oh God this is powerful, Julie. It makes me cringe. “saying all the right things” oh man.
Wow. Powerful.
Hi, Holly & Brigindo…Thank you both very much. It’s good to see you.
“saying all the right things in Anger Management class” – you’ve said it all here. Great work, Julie.
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Yeah, some people might benefit from the class. Unfortunately, this guy was working the system. Thanks, yuzublizzard. It’s good to see you. -Julie
Yes, my friend was fostering two children and wanted to adopt them but the fucking idiot psychologist decided that the children should be given one more chance to bond with their mother…….a clue to how their mother treated them: the first night they stayed at Jane’s, she wanted to bath them and the girl, three, started gibbering when she saw the water, don’t burn me, don’t burn me. Breaks my heart. Great poem, Julie, very powerful last lines.
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That brings tears to my eyes, Jo. What kind of a monster would burn a child or hit a child or sexually abuse a child, etc??? They should be in jail, instead of getting “reunited” with the kids. Oh, what heartache for those children and your friend. Thanks for your kind comments about my poem and for dropping in. -Julie
i see this all the time–sometimes the law is so screwed up
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I bet you see it almost on a daily basis, Scot. I tip my hat to anyone working in education. It’s got to be a tough job. My sister teaches third/fourth grade and sees it all. My first exposure was through youth services at a library, so I only saw the kids two or three times a week. But even that much kept me up at night. -Julie
I was going to root for the dad, until the end. You really bring it around to the raw situation in a powerful way at the end. Poor babe.
I was a teacher for 18 years, and it does drain. I was able to deal with the negative energy and the neediness (high school) alright until my own children became high school students, and then it all became too stressful. The kids who need us, need us so much.
Great poem, I’ll be thinking about it all night.
Hi, Christine: Wow…18 years. I’m serious when I say I have so much respect for people in education, teachers especially. The good ones are worth more than gold. And have seen so much. Thanks for your comments.
succinct, well observed and all too often very true…
Hi, Crafty Green Poet! Thanks for your kind comments and thanks for stopping in. It gave me a chance to go over and look at your site. It is beautiful. I’ll definitely be back.
Heart pain, the deep inside kind.
Oh, Nan…that’s the best description I think I’ve ever heard. You are so right.
So many laws come to mind, swimming in my head right now, laws that have for their purpose the protection of women and children from abuse. But the human factor, or ‘human error’, in matters of enforcement comprises the big chunk of reality check. Judges, lawyers, social workers — while these adults banter and engage in one–upmanship, the children suffer, homeless in their own houses. It makes me protective. It makes me frustrated.
Your poems that shed light on social concerns always move me to think, and sometimes remember. I admire so much the advocate in you. Your compassion shows, and your words invite action. The way reality is depicted in this poem, for instance, is whim-shattering.
Thank you, S.L. Your comments about the laws versus human error are so right on. “Homeless in their own homes” is such a good way to put it. Sadly, this boy is real. Now he’s a troubled teen.
I appreciate your kind comments. I felt that way about your alzheimer’s poem. It is a beautiful portrait, but it also displays much compassion. I was hanging around your site earlier today:) Will be back soon…
Blows the top of my head off and my heart wide open. We don’t even pay social services enough to do the job or social workers enough to do the job right. My sister has worked in child protection for thirty years – THIRTY YEARS! – and often tells me she goes to bed at night wondering if the next day will bring her a story of the child she missed.
Your sister is a very special person. I know I would have had a breakdown after one year. It takes a strong person to stay in those trenches for thirty years. I’m sure she has done much good, though. I’ve heard stories of the unbelievable amounts of paperwork, bureacracy, etc. And I’m sure dealing with parents is no picnic, either.
The good ones surely don’t get paid enough. But you also bring up a very interesting point…even the good ones are humans, overworked and extremely underpaid. They can also be victims of the system. That would make a great poem…the flip side…through the eyes of the social worker.
Thanks, sister. Talking to you is so interesting, and you always get me charged up:)
What an incredibly poignant poem this is, Julie. You touch so many people with this kind of powerful, succinct work.
God, Julie, this one really gets you. This needs to be heard. Thank you.
Hi, Ruth & Nathan: Thank you so much for those kind comments. I enjoy your visits (and of course, your awesome sites) very much.
Deceptively plain and simple, everything gathered in place for that last line. Powerful.
Thanks so much, Dick. It’s great to see you.
Achingly sad and true.
Thanks for stopping in, Cynthia. You are so right.
this poem has received many comments, and well it should. good work. It is a pleasure to read a poem when the poet has feelings about the subject matter. It puts power into the product.
Hi, Jack. It’s a difficult task for me to keep my emotions at bay in a poem sometimes. This one has a “simpler” structure, but it was actually harder for me to write.
Thank you, Jack. I appreciate your comments. And I was pleased to discover you on Holly’s site. I will definitely be a return visitor very soon.