Arched and twisted—a feeling I still can’t describe,

I lay there salt-soaked and helpless

Seeking for a place to hide.

 

My name lingers on my teachers’ tongue:

She will never succeed

The world quakes beneath my feet and I begin to believe

 

I watch through the frosted glass, 

an unstoppable world

Yet, I refuse to leave, and my heart becomes torn

 

~

 

“I want to thank my third-grade teacher for saying I couldn’t

For taking away my pride 

And teaching me to grow by myself”

 

I walk off the stage with diploma in hand 

Top of my class

Headed towards medicine

 

I learned to push myself,

To grow through concrete walls

And to shine even when it pours.

 

To my teacher: thank you, because of your doubt—I am succeeding.