"What kind of bird can't fly?"

He'd joke. Telling the same
anecdote about the
same poor redneck kids who
attended the day school,
knows as "alternative,"
for the kids kicked out of
the normal schools.

    "A jailbird,"

He would answer himself
enthusiastically.
Each narrative displayed
compassionate humor
for the kids' lives he changed.

Those were the days you could
chain smoke inside any
building, even a school...
Ash tray always in reach
amidst paper-covered 
surfaces, stacked so high,
the desk felt overwhelmed.

The place I loved to be.
Drinking school chocolate
milk and pretending that
I was the one in charge.
But he was the hero.

I have also heard that

    "Not all heroes wear capes."