Strong Back, Soft Front

a poem to my incarcerated client

Eight years old
shaved head and a wide smile
hungry for the love he always deserved

Far too young to “man up”
to bear the weight of the world on tiny shoulders
shoulders that one day
would stretch out the stitching of a blue uniform

Now almost eighteen
an easy laugh and a hopeful spirit
resisting the shackles
that threaten to keep him small

He sees blue sky above
touches green grass below
sunlight dances on his skin
a gentle reminder—

“You still matter.”

His hardened, stiff back carried the burdens of his past
not realizing that through it all
through it all
his heart remained soft

His heart is good
His heart is strong
His heart, it beats
and

beats

and

beats.