Chalk

In the classroom of life’s lessons My hand raised to answer and I choke The green board became white I stood up facing the class and I shrunk Far to the back to learn anything new The board dusters erased my storybook Far too long I’ve been to the wrong of you I extended my hand to write and you broke Far to the left I’ve always known you Blinded by the white powder I blank Nerves gag the throat and all I hear is... I sat in silence like a dog bred out its bark A fear groomed in me at the sight of you Several head starts ahead, you supersede me I’ve out ran you, but I will never catch up Long before the pen did, you empowered men Deep inside the caves, you made us storytellers More than cave paintings, this chjuualk could talk It filled the gaps between our lips with language And we evolved into orators, writers and poets Hard lessons learned by moonlight Through your white we came into the light Flashing knowledge in the empty dark spaces of the world We became conquerors We listened to the insurmountable Pioneered answers and invented solutions Hard lessons learned by candlelight Instructed our direction to always move forward You wrote on the chalkboard and it was law Today Mandela’s statue stood as elated as Libertas You commanded it and it was so