SLICE #4- At the Other End of the Spectrum

At one end of the spectrum is sweet L. 

Reading, reading, reading. 

Growing her mind

and her heart

and her world

a little bigger

with every page she turns.

She is so easy to teach.

She is so easy to love.

And at the other end of the spectrum is A.

He does not like to read.

Not sports novels.

Not graphic novels.

Not Kwame Alexander.

Or Jason Reynolds.

Or the “I Funny” series

Or Origami Yoda

Or Dogman.

Or March.

And not fantasy.

Definitely not fantasy.

None of those.

Every day

he careens into class

touches base with his buddies

flirts with a girl or two

and then does

a whole lot of nothing

for the next 45 minutes.

I cajole,

confer,

call home,

and get nowhere.

And every night

I lay awake wondering,

“How do I reach this kid?

“What matters most to his heart?”