Bully

Young Parker was school’s big bad bully,
He made girls cry by teasing them in school
He liked the payoff of hurting them daily
And their tears made him laugh and feel cool.

The teachers and parents were worried
Discipline problems were bad every day
Yet Parker ignored adult suggestions
In the lunchroom he chose someone to be his next prey.

Parker sat down one day to talk to a teacher
He admitted his life was not all that good.
He hated his clothes he got from his brother
And the charity store in his neighborhood.

His father would call TV people bad names
And make fun of the people at his job
His father would look at his children so critically
And would shake his head and call them a slob.

The teacher helped Parker feel better
She asked his mother to buy him new clothes
The parents were alerted to Parker’s insulting language
And would limit his time with violent, foul shows.

His mother would look at his report card
She would comment on his recent homework
She knew that school was much harder
And his older brother could review some homework

The class would be working on projects
Each team would be assigned special parts
The parts would be rotated weekly
The worker’s name was printed on a big chart.

Things began to be better slowly
The teacher noticed the class had more smiles
And Parker gave her a card that said “Thank you.”
The meeting with his parents was worthwhile.