labels

Before we had labels for autism,

ADHD and thinking disorders,  

Suzanne’s kid Charly was spoiled,

inattentive, irresponsible and strange.

Suzanne told me this story:

“In the morning before school,

I’d lay out everything he needed

to get dressed, and I’d pay him a quarter

if he didn’t lose anything.

I never had to pay him.”

These days when I can't find a shoe

or a word, I think about Charly,

and I try not to think about labels.