Walnuts
Walking through the overgrown grass
watching the winged dust motes
float away
I pick up the walnuts
Some lay clean, dry,
on top of the grass
These are easy to find and pick up
Some are covered by the
same long blades that
tickle my ankles
and I barely spot them
Some are still sort of encased in their skin
the pulp around the hard shell
not yet all pulled off
and I have to help them
shed it, but underneath
they’re mostly ready
Some are green and the shell
is still
firmly attached
They aren’t ready yet
so I leave them be
And it made me think
how much people
are like walnuts
Some are out and ready
and know who they are
Confident
Some are sure of themselves
but get hidden
in the background sometimes
You have to look for them
Some aren’t quite comfortable
just yet
and need a little encouragement
to get them going
And some
you just have to be patient,
because they’re not ready yet
Still figuring themselves out
and not ready to share