I find a table in the back room,
across the way a woman waits,
studious and refined.
Exchanged smiles and a nod,
a recognition of each other's condition. Both on a mission to discover and uncover our truths.
I delve into my notes,
random lines
and quotes of poetic potential,
a vocabulary as a credential.
She primps and organizes,
text books and journals,
pages put forth by sages
of knowledge and education,
her trained station.
Shortly she is joined by her charge,
a student of adult age,
unsure and uncertain,
shrouded by a curtain of doubt,
out to prove detractors wrong.
Treading on trepidatious feet
he meets the one who will guide him,
a black man wanting a better life,
an understanding in undemanding tones. Grasping small bits of truth
far from the youth of his days,
he plays slowly with words,
a struggle undertaken.
He battles the language valiantly, stepping cautiously from word to word. Yearning for a chance to better himself, willing to learn what she offers.
I look over again
and we all smile and nod.
(C) Walter J Wojtanik - 2023