I walk in

confident as the sun,

The classroom

is my cocoon

Its lessons

I plan

I deliver

As I tend to the caterpillars

in it,

Test

their skills,

help them

colour their desires

and gnaw at their doubts

until assured

of their strength

to become butterflies

 

                                          I am vulnerable

                                         Uneducated and illiterate

                                         in the ways of the world

                                         –excuse the cliché–

                                        for I haven’t yet learnt

                                        my own language

I grab at straws

As and when they’re thrown at me

hoping to form

a phrase

and gradually a sentence

that tells my story

My strength

and skill

are tested

every single day

I must learn

to trust

and to have that trust broken

so that I may begin to build again

the strength in my wings

and,

hope

 to someday

fly