When parents walk their children up to my desk
And have them practice the formalities of a bureaucracy,
Just so they can gain a sense of their impending adulthood,
These children begin to understand their importance
In relation to the world outside themselves.

It's not so much about please-and-thank-you's,
But instead about what you can and can't do.
They look up at me looking down on them,
Their eyes wide to mine narrow, and my hands
Are making motions they can't quite comprehend,
In relation to a screen they can't see, or if they could,
Understand with their limited experience in this world.
But despite their shortcomings, goddamn, they are eager to learn.