the way in is the way out

unique, and universal   

I teach, or rather, I help students learn,
for, at the heart, I believe a teacher does best
when he, when she, helps a student accept
 the scary gift of his and her own worth,
each of us should realize we know the path forward,
even when we feel most alone
we can be true to the gift the world gives itself
by me being me, by us being us,

by being alone, buffeted by doubt,
we can somehow, sometime,
 transmute ourselves into being the most universal,
for we can then get it that our unique path
can help others appreciate their own unique ways,

we risk,
we doubt,
and if we feel our ignorance
and if we then seek to learn and grow larger,
door upon door, that could be closed, opens.

by Henry H. Walker
September 14, ’12