I taught him to understand
remorse, how brave we must be
To admit when we are wrong.
My neighbor said my son had
Teased hers, who was autistic and
Felt cruelty like anyone else.
He had been crying for an hour
At my son’s betrayal.
I asked him how it would feel
To watch a bully tease his own brother,
Older by six years but fragile and exposed
to the same kind of cruelty.
His face grew hot with red shame and contrition,
That day’s lesson of thou shalt not.
He told me he was sorry and begged me not to make him go.
I watched from the driveway as he slump-shouldered
His way slowly across the lawn, tear-streaked,
His superhero sneakers scuffing the dirt.
My heart seized in my chest as he raised his fist to knock.
He’s a grown man now,
Full of my instructions.
I raised him to remember compassion,
Feel the weight of his power
to choose.
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