The saddest part about the Colonel

(Well, not the saddest part)

is that he was never part of the Game

where I meet a man’s eyes

and wait for him to be an adult.

He’s the one who put me on the board,

shoved dice into my hand.

With the Colonel I walked into his classroom

hating science, but wooed by the way he made

everything a joke, always teasing, the cool teacher.

He did it with everyone, not just girls like me—

baby fat migrating up toward bras—

had the same imp smile for every student.

When I looked in his eyes

when I stayed after class to ask questions

it was because he made me feel safe

enough to admit I never really understood

basic things like balancing equations

or naming and formulas

I came to him as a student

and he came to me as a teacher

until

the day

he came to me

as a wolf.