DISPLAYING SCHOOL PHOTOS I have my own school photo this year and will send a headshot to all our children and stepchildren just as they send us - my wife and me - school photos of grandchildren every year in the fall. Some grandparents create shrines, but I have my own method of displaying school photos. I like to put them in a drawer where they lie forgotten for years until the day I find them - usually while searching for reading glasses or keys - and so begins a journey through years of pigtails and braces, a tight-throated, stinging-eyed journey through gains and losses now past, each memory perfectly framed in wallet-sized innocence.
GOD BLESS THE CHILD (a shy granddaughter's first day at school) May she find a friend today - may every lonely child find a friend - and may the adults who surround her remember that for those who feel deeply minor setbacks are felt as body blows and when she finds a friend and they chase across the playground with no thought of stumbling, please guide her towards a soft spot before she trips and falls.
I published these poems almost exactly one year ago today, in honor of the fact that a new school year was about to begin. It seemed worthwhile to publish them here again, for exactly that same reason. God Bless all the kids going back to school and all the adults who teach and care for them.
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Joseph Neely, all rights reserved
Come back for a new poem every Monday.
The Occasional Poem 
Well done Joe…and heartfelt!
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Thanks, Bill. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
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It was great to see your poem. Every shy child goes through this and I hope they all find friends.
Well done!! I hope to see more soon.
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Thanks so much, Doug.
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I think we all have drawers filled with memories, stuffed with pictures and bits picked up along the way.
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Lovely!
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On School Photos-This poem says so much— love these lines in particular:”a tight-throated, stinging-eyed journey
through gains and losses of the past,”
“God Bless the Child”- Is many a parent and grand-parent’s prayer.
Thank you for sharing Joe!
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Thanks for two lovely poems to get the new school year started! I especially enjoy the lines in the first poem about tucking the photos away and stumbling upon them later when looking for reading glasses or keys. Great imagery!
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I love poem 1, having experienced discovering my own awkward pictures from long ago stashed with the daughter’s and granddaughters’ memories.
Poem 2 hit home for me today as I helped in a classroom that will be the home of some children new to our school. The hesitancy during “icebreakers” and recess was so tender, but I know they’ll find their tribes.
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. . . and I know you will help them find their tribes!
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