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Subject
Personal Note:
Poem Title:
Poem
I have to admit
The school where I work
Needs everyone to be
Able to speak Spanish.
Because the parents do.
We are an 82 percent
Spanish-speaking community.
I’ve taken Spanish 4 times.
And I have failed Spanish 4 times.
I have no idea why the
Verb comes first, and I cannot
get around Subject verb predicate.
Probably because of a very
nasty, mean 7th grade
English teacher who
told me once if I was
a boy he would smash
my face against my desk
until it cracked, in front of
the class.
Coincidentally, this 
was the same year I 
was sent to the office
115 times for "smiling in class"
by 4 different male teachers
who were quite angry at
my quick and snappy wit.
Back to subject now.
I do not “get” Spanish,
So I am probably one
Of the school staff who should
Demand a 100 percent
Hispanic staff. However,
on the other hand, our
children speak English,
And I speak English
And I’m not
Actually there
For the parents.
But I did help
One parent who
Could not quit sobbing.
I led her by the hand to
My office. Where we
Sat cuddled and crying
Together, and
We did not stop for
A long, long time.
People walked by to
Stare through my
Glass office walls.
Some tried to come
In, but I shook my
Head mean.
When I’m in SAVE
Mode, I am
100 percent MAMA
Bear, and now this mommy
of a sad and angry and
let's-kill-something 10-
year- old boy, whom
I adored, had accidentally
Become one of my cubs.
When we finally stopped
Wailing and sobbing,
and the clutching loosened,
I slid her off of my lap
onto another chair,
then I motioned to the 
Phone. She nodded.
Her eyes were still
teary.   I called Mr. R.,
A therapist friend who
Comes to the school 
Through an abused woman
And child center. I knew
He spoke FLUENT Spanish.
I said, "I'm in trouble here.
I need you now. This mommy
will not stop crying, and she
only speaks Spanish."
He said, "Thank you for 
trusting me with this. Please
hand the phone to her."
I watched in fascination
as the weight of the world
seemed to slide off of her
back as Mr. R. spoke with
her. She was the third
parent of mine he had
phone-helped that week,
and it was only Tuesday!
Mr. R.  spoke to her in fluent
Spanish for a while, then
the Mommy who was
hiccup-gulping now, handed
 me the phone. Mr. R.
said,"Mrs. K, have the son
come up with his backpack,
ready to go home. Do  not
let them leave with
any relatives or anyone.
 I am coming over there. NOW.”
I sent for the boy, and no one
questioned me, because they
are all AFRAID of Mama Bear
at school. Everyone knew I
would scratch and hit and claw
and fight to keep the Mommy and
the baby bear safe. 
They know me.
Six months later,
maybe even seven months
later, I was the barker for the
carnival we call CONFERENCE
DAY. It was my job to get the
parents to sign up, and I got
145 signatures in two hours,
even though I don't speak Spanish
I speak PEOPLE.
After barker duty, I was in the computer
lab, forcing the children to
coerce their parents to
come in and sign up on
a little survey written 
on the computer in Spanish.
The parents were to say how
wonderful our school is.
I coaxed the children, who
changed some of their parents 
answers;they spoke Mrs. K
and they wanted to please me.
This was the day I next saw 
this keening, wailing, sobbing
woman.  My heart recognized
her, but my brain was not so sure.
She had such a beautiful face
when she smiled, it blew me
away. She let out a scream,
and came running over, and 
hugged me, and we jumped
up and down with glee. That's
when I saw her happy grinning
10-year-old son, and I knew it
was she.
Frankly,
If I had not seen her child
I might not have known
that this was the same
mommy I protected with
my life that day in my
office.
She apparently
Had been an
Abused woman,
And Mr. R. and his
Magic people sneaked
Her and her son out of
The house the same
night we shared the
long "I love you and I
will help you no matter
what" hug.
Mr. R. can keep a 
confidence, so I did
not know she
was an abused woman.
All I knew was that her
10 year-old-son had
spent less time with me,
and every day when he
got out of the cab, he
yelled, "Mrs. K, my mom
says, 'hi'," and I yelled
back, "Tell her that I love her!"
Our ten-year-old-boy
Smiled now, and
Seemed less likely
To hurt people or
Kill a locker, but
I did not know why.
This Mommy taught
herself how to speak
English in 3 months.
In 6 months, she sent me
A note written in
ENGLISH  saying how
much she appreciated
me and loved me.
I guess I had helped her.
Me, 
A woman who 
Flunked Spanish 4
Times.
Maybe I don’t
Need Spanish,
Being fluent
In people and
Crying and all
may be enough.
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