crackers and kindness

Introduction: in third grade, I started to get ravenously hungry long before lunch, every day. It affected my behavior, my energy, and my ability to learn. My teacher thought she could punish me into better performance, but it was the school nurse who offered me the sanctuary I needed: a break from a high-pressure classroom, and just enough Ritz crackers to get me back on track. This is for her.

It was there when I needed it most:

the crunch, the salt, the reassurance,

pulled from an endless sleeve

that never seemed to run out.

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The crunch, the salt, the reassurance,

the school nurse's patience

that never seemed to run out -

she knew hunger.

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The school nurse's patience,

like those crackers.

She knew hunger;

she gave kindness.

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Like those crackers

pulled from an endless sleeve,

she gave kindness.

It was there when I needed it most.