this isn't "just a job"

lost souls and damaged hearts
fear filled eyes and violent lives
left without hugs and kisses
no one there to tuck them in
no bed time stories
no one to say I love you
I want to wrap them in my arms
and save them from themselves

a 21 year old with a life experience of
drug deals
stealing someone’s personal lap top and selling it
violence that I don’t even want to imagine
he rides his bike cycle 30 minutes one way
to get to his community service
which is where we work
the place he calls home
is a place where he gets to share a room
with 28 other men
he doesn’t get to come home
to a home cooked meal every night
to familiar faces that love him unconditionally
he gets jail food
even though he’s not “in” jail
basically he is
they call it a probation house until he gets on his feet
in three months he gets kicked out of his “home”
to only go back to where it all began
you can’t expect someone to permanently change
when they are sent back out to the place
that sent them there to begin with
they are set up for failure
and it’s no ones fault but the system

today my heart melted and tears welled up in my eyes
with two small words from an 8 year old boy
“don’t go” he said looking up with his big brown eyes
he is normally so quiet
from being beat down
and afraid that any wrong move he makes
he will get screamed at
I witnessed it first hand what he has to hear
and it scared the shit out of me

this isn’t “just a job”
it’s giving something to these lost souls
that need a simple hug and smile
it’s not just supplying them with lunches and snacks
it’s supplying them with maybe a dash of colorless love
the kind of a love that doesn’t see what they did in their past
a love they don’t get at home
a love that we all should give
to show true
compassion
sympathy
empathy



"Cause I'm about to
Say goodbye to every single lie
and all the fears I've held too long inside
Everytime I felt I could try
All the negativity I had inside

For too long I've been struggling. I couldn't go on
But now I've found I'm feeling strong and moving on
I believe they can take anything from me
But they can't succeed in taking my inner peace
They can say all they wanna say about me."