Three sassy sixth grade girls
Tightened their hijabs and stormed into the library
At first
Unhappily and unwillingly forced
To spend time with me today
Six days before the last day
Of what has been an extraordinary school year.
The sum total of their ages
Two decades less the total of mine
The problems we discussed
Were not the math ones on their homework pages
Designed to raise their grades
Through the practice of fractions and multiplication
But books, boys, siblings, and stories
The things that bind us all.