He stood alone in the school yard
looking down at his feet
afraid of his own shadow

I asked them about him,
my fifteen year old students
'Not our problem,' they replied in unison

I tried to encourage empathy
they listened for a minute
got bored and returned to their groups

She stood alone in the school yard
all those years ago
eager to belong

I remember how we ignored her
she was very shy you see
and that was not our problem

I wondered today,
if she was watching me.