he was trouble in high school
from getting hit too much at home
didn’t take crap anywhere else
he acted up in every class
except in one study class
where the teacher was elderly
and exceptionally nice to him
he got kicked out of school
many times for bad behavior
he was too rebellious and
rarely did any homework
he barely graduated D’s and F’s
college wasn’t in his future
bad grades poor family
he went into the air force
was a bad actor there
couldn’t fit in with the rules
and all the enforced conformity
got drunk and troublesome
confined for 30 days under guard
had an epiphany while confined
saw it was him and not them
began to reinvent himself
took colleges courses A’s & B’s
returned home from the air force
a peacemaker and a matured man
spent his final days helping
the elderly with a nonprofit job
received praise and accolades
the last an award from a college
for his achievements with the elderly
bob boyd
