school

the rule was,
nobody allowed back in

until the bell rang,
no exceptions.

it was an especially harsh
winter and

that day snow
and wind

kept anybody from
seeing past the school grounds.

a boy had left his coat
inside

and stood in a t-shirt
shivering in a brick alcove

near the door.
one by one

we noticed him
huddling there,

and one by one
on individual

yet identical purposes
we each went over

and stood around him,
keeping the wind off.

we breathed on him
and rubbed his arms

and a couple girls
even took turns

hugging him
to warm him up.

all the dumb, petty
cruelties

so often in force
in the small

unsuspecting world
of children

simply weren’t there
as we managed

to grasp something
enormous

inside ourselves.
as the bell rang

and we escorted
the boy to the door,

we encouraged him
to forget his coat

again
during the next recess--

we had experienced
something,

it wasn’t a game
but it felt like we had won

and we wanted to hold on
to it

for as long as
we could.