I watch as you walk the tightrope 

To the pearly gates of education 

Feeling the pricks of its distressed state 

Through your bottomless shoes, 

In every step you take 

The booming crowds 

Hawking distasteful obscenities and compounded slurs

I feel them too, 

Applauding your emotionless faces.

You are the silver lining to the clouds of dust 

That my exhausted school books spit 

And the gritty carpet squares on which we used to sit. 

Shared books and cubby spaces 

Made us believe that school was not our place

In their tapestry of deception 

This is the day of breaking unjust boundaries,

An action long overdue 

And as you shatter those walls

We stand here, alongside you 

Your bravery is recognized, 

As your undaunted steps draw close to those doors

This time, you are not taking “no” for an answer 

They will not deny you like before 

Whoever knew a good book and quality education 

Would cause so much bitterness and distress

That would enrage a whole nation  

And we stand alongside you 

Indifferent to their efforts to see us fail

As we lay down our foundation 

I stand alongside you, though I watch from afar 

They stand beside you,

Only assigned as your guards

We stand alongside you, 

Heavy in our hearts 

We stand alongside you, 

Distance does not mean we’re apart 

What you do today

With this opportunity

Will stamp our country’s history 

The many others like me who stand alongside you 

Take a crucial step in creating a culture of community