At Risk

AT RISK                    62 Lines

Part I.

A mother answers the door
Robe disheveled, vodka on her breath
A little boy at her feet, arms around her knee
They've been through this before
She clears a spot on the couch
And tells the worker to have a seat

The call comes in, a ten year old boy in trouble
A mother with her hands in the air, out of options
Workers calling group homes
Selling them on his good points
Trying to minimize the bad
Hoping for a placement without locked doors

A mother calls the police, her teenaged boy enraged,
Fist marks on the walls, on her flesh
Weeks later, a judge hands down the sentence
One year in a youth facility
A mother in fear of her son behind bars
But more in fear of taking him home

Where were we when he was little
When he still knew how to cry
When his mom still wanted to do better
When the courts still had some options
When he was still looking to grown-ups for answers
Holding tightly to his momma's leg?

Now we call him "At Risk"
But he was at risk before we met him
Now, he's in danger
He's not falling through the cracks
He's fallen
Are we ready to catch him?


Part II

Maybe we are the one's "At Risk"
At risk of missing something
Of feeling too much
Of feeling too little
Of trying too hard
To fix what's broken

We're "At Risk" of hoping too much
That his family can fix themselves
Of not trusting them to fix themselves
Of jumping to conclusions
Of jumping too slowly
Of trying too hard to protect ourselves

From the liability of risk
The prospect of seeing ourselves
On the six o'clock news
Failing to protect the children
Failing to predict the risks
Of letting them slip through our fingers

We are all "At Risk"
Our country, our communities
From kids neglected, parents allowed to abuse
By well-meaning friends and family, overworked agencies,
Laws to respect privacy and parent's rights
More important than the safety of children

We must be there when they are little
When they still know how to cry
When their moms still want to do better
When the courts still have some options
When children are still looking to grown-ups for answers,
Holding tightly to their momma's leg?

Only then will we be able to protect
Children at Risk


SWPoet