School Supplies by Lauren Lansford

I gave them patience,

permission

beveled rose erasers:

slippers for our ballet

of mistakes.

Hallway high-fives,

umbrellas in the rain,

and advice I could not keep.

I gave them myself.

I gave them time, bluffed energy:

my proof of love.

I held their mothers

at graduation, and

at their funeral,

I gave them flowers.

Lauren Lansford is a queer woman and public school educator whose writing is largely informed by those experiences. She has previously been published in Spyglass and Sybil Journal.