the middle schooler, and belief in self

 belief

I worked with middle schoolers for over half a century,

that reality daunts many who speak to me,

they can seem flabbergasted that I loved it all,

that I was good at it all,

in my dreams, though, 

I imagine scenarios within which I couldn't do it,

the effort so vital to me

that the fear of being insufficient

can still devastate me in the night,

many former students thank me for believing in them,

a self-belief that challenged them

while their worth seemed obviously true to me,

for when I saw them, understood them,

believed in them,

their worth shouted at me,

my belief, plus theirs, made it so.

by Henry H. Walker

September 10, ‘25