Homeroom 1996, I was just a new kid at your school
Probing adolescent eyes and whispers made me feel like such a fool, but there was you
Voice like a butterfly and openness to meet folks where they're at
Music in your throat and lines of poems sprouting from your hands
Nothing fake and nothing planned
Oh Jeannie Frances don't you cry
One day your heart will open wide, and that harsh wind will help you fly
And over time - you might find
There's no need to wonder why
No Jeannie Frances don't you weep
You have the prettiest of eyes even though you don't believe
With a kind of gleam - that you can't see
But you should know you're always beautiful to me
We became fast friends and soon we shared all of our secret hopes and fears
When ridicule became too much we'd build each other up and sing through tears
But I still tried hard not to see...
You knew things about me that I couldn't or I wouldn't know myself
When someone you loved needed you, you'd fold your dreams and wishes on the shelf
Rang your kindness like a bell
There was sadness in your smile and some kind of pain behind your eyes
You tried on every costume that there ever was to try
Kept giving love and grace away in hopes to find a way to love yourself
Busy healing hearts but all the while just wishing you were someone else