Homerun

Shut down, aloof,
and most people don't know why,
but I see a heart bigger than his failures, and
I love him.
Who would have guessed--
23 years old--
and I am an adult,
a child,
a teacher,
and a mother...
a mother to 80 kids,
but only a handful
are my own.
Do you wonder who they are?
They're the ones with the cold eyes,
the slumps, the indifferent responses.
They're the ones who chatter,
who wander, who do things they shouldn't, but
they're the ones who need me,
who show me,
whose hearts illuminate their faces when
through the rain
they say,
You came!
and their eyes
CRACK! WOOOOO!
say,
You care.