Franklin

Assigned to my friend, Franklin, in grade school,

Whose eyes were very weak, legally blind,

I tried to shelter him from ridicule,

The children laughed at him.  They were unkind.

I closed my eyes to them!  I closed my eyes,

And brought the large editions to his chair,

Although heavy and twice the normal size.

With the thick lenses Frank needed to wear,

He scoured the bold print upon each page,

Five volumes to one book in standard text,

A closeness something rare in kids our age.

One day he brought his folder where he drew,

In fine detail, sketches of railroad trains.

They circled him to get a better view.

To capture their speed and motion remains,

His most amazing ability!  Admired for this,

Frank beamed when other children came to look.

Quietly, they flipped through pages of his book,

What their own blindness made easy to miss.