I Love my Work
Posted on Apr 26th, 2008
by 
kcidybom
kcidybom
This is not my work, although I wish I could claim it. One of my students, who had come to my school with multiple diagnoses that would make the following impossible to predict no less expect, came out of his shell. I've been asking him for several weeks to write about how he feels. Late Wednesday night, softly crysmiling, he walked up to my sleeping bag, dropped a piece of paper on it, said good night, and then crawled into his bag and went to sleep. What was on that paper, a poem to a girl he has a crush on 'back home,' is reproduced here at his request, and exactly as he wrote it. Oh, and by the way, this is his first poem in English, which is his third language, one he began to learn only six months ago, and he's 13 years old.
BE FREE
WHAT HAPPEN TO ME
I'M JUST A BOY
ONLY A BOY WANTING TO BE SOMEONE
AND IF I TRY OH, OH, OH
AND IF I DREAM OH, OH, OH
AND IF I SEE MY HEART INSIDE OF ME
OH, OH, OH
LET'S GO FLYING TOGETHER
LET'S GO FLY LIKE A BIRD YEAH, YEAH
LET'S GO SKATING THE SKY
YOU HEARD MY VOICE AND YOU CRY
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE IN THIS WORLD
I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE AND FLY AWAY
AND SMELL ALL THE FLOWERS IN MY HEART
I WANT TO FEEL THE LOVE IN ME
I WANT TO GO, GO, GO AWAY
I'M FEELING REAL LOVE ONLY FOR YOU
YOU OPEN MY HEART AND I SEE THE WORLD
IT'S TIME TO LIVE OH, OH, OH
YOU CAN BE MY OH, OH, OH
AND WE CAN JOURNAL TO PARADISE
LET'S GO FLYING TOGETHER
LET'S GO FLY LIKE A BIRD YEAH, YEAH
LET'S GO SKATING THE SKY
YOU HEARD MY VOICE AND YOU CRY
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE IN THIS WORLD
I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE AND FLY AWAY
AND SMELL ALL THE FLOWERS IN MY HEART
I WANT TO FEEL THE LOVE IN ME
I WANT TO GO, GO, GO AWAY
IF I HAD A WING TO FLY
IF I HAD A TEAR TO CRY
I WILL GIVE MY SOUL
TO THE ANGLES IN THE SKY
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE IN THIS WORLD
I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE AND FLY AWAY
AND SMELL ALL THE FLOWERS IN MY HEART
I WANT TO FEEL THE LOVE IN ME
I WANT TO GO, GO, GO AWAY
UH, UH, UH
WHAT HAPPEN TO ME
UH, UH, UH
WHAT HAPPEN TO ME
I'M JUST A BOY
WHAT HAPPEN TO ME
I'M JUST A BOY
ONLY A BOY WANTING TO BE SOMEONE
AND IF I TRY OH, OH, OH
AND IF I DREAM OH, OH, OH
AND IF I SEE MY HEART INSIDE OF ME
OH, OH, OH
LET'S GO FLYING TOGETHER
LET'S GO FLY LIKE A BIRD YEAH, YEAH
LET'S GO SKATING THE SKY
YOU HEARD MY VOICE AND YOU CRY
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE IN THIS WORLD
I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE AND FLY AWAY
AND SMELL ALL THE FLOWERS IN MY HEART
I WANT TO FEEL THE LOVE IN ME
I WANT TO GO, GO, GO AWAY
I'M FEELING REAL LOVE ONLY FOR YOU
YOU OPEN MY HEART AND I SEE THE WORLD
IT'S TIME TO LIVE OH, OH, OH
YOU CAN BE MY OH, OH, OH
AND WE CAN JOURNAL TO PARADISE
LET'S GO FLYING TOGETHER
LET'S GO FLY LIKE A BIRD YEAH, YEAH
LET'S GO SKATING THE SKY
YOU HEARD MY VOICE AND YOU CRY
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE IN THIS WORLD
I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE AND FLY AWAY
AND SMELL ALL THE FLOWERS IN MY HEART
I WANT TO FEEL THE LOVE IN ME
I WANT TO GO, GO, GO AWAY
IF I HAD A WING TO FLY
IF I HAD A TEAR TO CRY
I WILL GIVE MY SOUL
TO THE ANGLES IN THE SKY
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE IN THIS WORLD
I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE AND FLY AWAY
AND SMELL ALL THE FLOWERS IN MY HEART
I WANT TO FEEL THE LOVE IN ME
I WANT TO GO, GO, GO AWAY
UH, UH, UH
WHAT HAPPEN TO ME
UH, UH, UH
WHAT HAPPEN TO ME
I'M JUST A BOY
This boy has been a different person since he wrote this. I think good things are starting to happen.
Access: Public
life
July 2008 
I'm crying. Thank you.
I cried when I read it that night. I am so lucky to know these boys.
we are so blessed, all of us who work with children. they teach me so much
Blessed by the children. Yes we are Nicole.
Incredible!
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE IN THIS WORLD
I HOPE EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND
I JUST WANT TO BE FREE AND FLY AWAY
AND SMELL ALL THE FLOWERS IN MY HEART
I WANT TO FEEL THE LOVE IN ME
Again, my friend, this just tells me how much you do for these boys - that they can figure out that you … you will understand and receive this! Yep … that's what giving back hope to these kids is about - receiving them and accepting them.
Beautiful to see what emerges when we come out of our shells… Thank you for sharing this with us!
Thank you Peri and Nicola. These boys are important to me, and important to us all - they are the future after all. Every time they are in a bad space and pick up a pen and write, instead of picking up a stone and throwing it, I know the difficulties are worthwhile. I love those moments.
Albert, you are magnificent because you see these boys the flowers in their hearts, and suddenly they can see / feel / speak for themselves their own flowers.
I'm finally understanding that growing up with all girls around, then raising my two daughters, has been the best possible preparation for working with these boys. Weird, huh?
everything i do in life prepares me for everything else i am doing. i have come to accept this. i would never be able to run the IAKF as well as I do were it not for my years of experience chairing the church board and running my Kumon learning centre. In turn, my work on the church board was possible because of my years experience doing many volunteer activities in the church and in school committees, as well as running my centre, etc.
life is so complex and interesting.
“life is so complex and interesting.” yes. yes. yes.
mmmm hmmm.
I'm going off to work in the woods for another shift in a few minutes. Maybe I'll get another poem left on my sleeping bag. Thank you all…love you all…;-)
albert – thank you so much for the work you do. I am so happy to know that you enjoy it / love it. I'm so grateful that the boys have you. -dawn
Thanks Dawn. My love for what I do is what made the science teacher position offer such a difficult decision. I think I did the right thing. I hope.
these boys are so blessed to have you nearby
waiting for poems to drop
on your sleeping bag
xx
And thanks for dropping that one on my waking bag Jena!