Lion's Heart

Weekdays at 9:45

My role of a student pauses

My role of a Life Program Aid begins

 

Two

Three

Four

Five sets of eyes examin my entrance

As if I am a caged lion at the zoo

 

The only difference is that whispers replace yelling children

Have I done something wrong?

Am I getting kicked out?

 

“I’ll tell her”

 

Now I hear the screaming

Now I feel the pounding

 

“One of the students passed away in her sleep last night”

This isn’t fair.

Just Thirteen years old

This isn’t fair

In a wheelchair her whole life.

This is not fair.

 

I feel more trapped than ever

like I’m drowning on all the tears I’m holding back

 

I scanned the room, looking at the other students

All of whom were unaware of the tragedy

All of whom have their own disability

All of whom I adore deeply

 

We are all given different hardships

The students I work with daily have severe disabilities

Yet they still find reasons to smile

 

This was the second I realized my purpose

Every day at 9:45 I am ecstatic to walk into class

I put joy into their lives

In turn, they put joy into mine.

I carry a Lion’s heart.

We all do

Utilizing it in the right way is the hard part.

 

This poem is about: 
Me
Our world
Guide that inspired this poem: 

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