Rising

Every morning before the sun
    at work before others wake
    mosquitos sizzle in the still moist air
    roosters
    dawnlight slips over the mist-covered fields
    All is dull grey.

        Rising

Bus
   books
      notes
          blue pens
             chalk.
  Mats on the floor, woven in the colors of their lives.
     curiosity
        wondering
            experimenting with a language that is not their own
 Speaking, reading, writing
                       new worlds open

      Rising

Forbidden
   alien
     no role models.
The first
    the leaders
        What do the younger ones think?

      Rising

The world is waiting
  so much to do
  so much to offer
  so far to go
  stuck in place

    Rising