a school is a universe

To walk the grounds of a school
with the bureaucracy pulled away
is to enter multiple universes.

Beyond reports and meetings
and trappings of frustration
children create and analyse art,
find ways to reveal meaning in their lives
through fiction,
pass a ball and learn to dodge opponents,
explore their way through processes and cycles,
unpack concepts, ask questions,
perform concrete and plays,
solve problems, equations, and disputes with friends.

To walk the grounds of a school
is to enter multiple universes.

I see a baby bird banging against a wall
near the fifth floor hallway.
I try to corral it
but it hops away from me
flapping it wings frantically
panting desperately.

It’s tiny beak
breathlessly
open.

Tired.
Exhausted.
Over burdened.
Distrustful.

It continues to hop away
as I approached.

I want to catch it,
cup it gently
in my palms and carry it down stairs.

Now it’s near the edge of a ledge.
I wonder if it can fly,
maybe I should just leave it alone?

I take one final step
it leaps,
floating down
five stories
like a leaf
with a heart.

A few flaps and it is on the ground.
hard to tell if it is better off,
or if I helped

a school
is a universe.