by Alexandra Zannis, BSW, RSW
Alexandra Zannis
Alexandra Zannis
My teachers told me I was a superhero
They told me I wore a cape
They told me we had certain powers to help our clients escape
They told us to have courage, this profession isn’t for the faint of heart
They told us to prepare ourselves for a life that could be dark.
They told us we were lucky, social workers are strong
They told us that we have a duty - to make people feel like they belong
They told us to treat this job like we were mighty knights
That this superhuman cape is worn morning, noon, and night.
But this seems just so wrong you see because superpowers don’t exist
I don’t want recognition for something I’d consider a gift
And what happens to the practitioner’s mind when we can’t do it all?
When we get home and collapse to the floor because we couldn’t break a client’s fall
When the superpowers don’t work every time, but our cape should never fail?
When our only job was to bring the child home safely, but sadly, to no avail
What happens to the client, when we bite off more than we can chew?
When we can’t solve every problem, when we aren’t able to be their glue
What happens to our clients, when we believe we have all the answers?
When we feel like our only job is to appear like a perfectly, orchestrated dancer
What happens to our communities when we are supposed to solve it all?
What happens to ourselves, what happens when we stand too tall
No, I am not a superhero
I do not have a cape
I do not have mythical powers
That can make my clients elate
I don’t have a special formula
To make everything right
I cannot move all mountains
I cannot shine your light
My job is not to fix you
My job is not to judge
My job is in the stillness
Of when you may just need a nudge
My job is not some grandiose gest
I am not a saint
Please don’t think that I can fix the world, it would be a very long wait
If anyone should be praised, it’s YOU, you are the best example
For giving us a looking glass into something others may trample
If anyone is a superhero, it is the people who mourn
It is the clients who come to us in grief, joy, hope, and scorn
It is the people who give complete strangers the ability to see
That we are all connected, that you are just like me
That sometimes life is harder, and at times unfair, unjust
That you have traveled lengths and lengths just to foster trust
That you have brought us a gift, that is found only within your presence
That you will likely share with us your humanity and your essence
Yes, we will be social workers, and yes we go through training
Yes, we have an arsenal of tools, and yes at times we’ll find them constraining
But what I cannot get behind, what I never could support
Is this super human notion, this fictitious type of sport
Do not tell me I am a superhero
Just tell me I am blessed
That every day I get to do a job that makes it worth getting dressed
Tell me that I am lucky, that I should hold it dear
That this present I’ve been given is people’s lives and happiness and fear
That when I come home at the end of the day, I don’t forget your voice
Whether it was shared to me with anger, thrill, love, tears, or rejoice
Don’t teach students we are invincible
Because that is just a guise
Teach us to be human, teach us to be kind.
Alexandra Zannis, BSW, RSW, is Social Policy and Communications Coordinator at the Canadian Association of Social Workers on traditional, unceded, and unsurrendered Algonquin territory.