Kids from ranches and barrios.
Border Patrol kids and State of Texas kids.
Shoe salesman kids and plumber and welder and seamstress kids.
And in my school room, I never saw an apple on a teacher’s desk.
I never saw a kid give my teacher an apple.
Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Just that I didn’t see it.
Decades later I taught at a technical college.
Med tech students and IT certification students,
Office manager and bilingual business students, too.
I taught them all. And every holiday they brought me gifts.
Peppermint bark and teddy bear mugs and hand made cards.
I just wondered, “Aren’t they too old for this?”
Now I teach at an HBCU, Historically Black College University,
A place both enchanting and enchanted
With students who have more life lessons than most college kids.
I admire them and I learn from them.
Today two students had a special request.
It was the two with the most beautiful hair.
One with a thousand black braids to her waist
Sporadically cuffed with gold.
The other with smooth straight locks carefully arranged.
They asked for apples. And then for Clementines, bananas and pears.
And they smiled when they said, “pineapple.”
The women love the pineapple.
They were hungry. One hadn’t eaten all day.
They thought I could feed them.
And I will.
I will bring apples and Clementines, bananas and pears for everyone
And pineapple for the women with beautiful hair.
They will offer to share with their classmates
And their classmates will say, “No, thank you. I am happy with this Clementine.”
Because that is the enchantment. That is how they honor each other.
Share. Defer. Celebrate.
All are welcome.
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