Long skirt reaching her knees
Socks doing the same, with a dainty hole near her ankle
Petite shack with brothers, sisters and a single mother
Eating pap and cabbage each and every night
She told herself that she was going to be educated
And make her mama proud
Uphutu and water that was her breakfast,
Even though she would have wished for pancakes with butter on top
She knew that there are some other children in the world
That don’t even know what breakfast is, so she ate with pride and dignity
Tons of books on top of the microscopic table
With the white candle glowing and creating her shadow
She knew that with education, she could create her own light bulbs
Girls at school pressuring her to make her skirt short
And to straighten her hair, so that she could be attractive
She knew that was not the right thing to do
She still wore her long skirt and embraced her crown
Girls thinking that they need boys in their lives to be complete
Girls thinking that a boy is everything to them
She knew that with B7 she could make dreams come true
Let’s admire our goals and dreams
Let’s admire our education and brilliant teachers
Even though it can be hard sometimes
Because of poverty and no inspiration around us
Let’s be the first to be presidents
Let’s be the first to be astronauts
Let’s be the first of everything brilliant
That no one ever thought we would be.
We can overcome this, Hillel (the elder) said
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”