See the waves, 

Thunder and roar while approaching 

As if they were independent from the vastness of the ocean

Yet they arrive at the shoreline

With roaring turned to whispers 

Kissing and greeting the sand with a plausible gentleness 

---

See the lone chick 

Wander away from the traveling family

With a quiet courage 

Convinced she knows her way around 

In a world so vast

---

But before the wandering…was an egg

A shell.

Firm.

Unyielding.

And that is who I appear to be

Rough at the edges

Rigid in my ways

Bearing a shell that’s hard to understand 

One I protect for my own protection 

---

I am the wandering chick

Once an egg, still bearing the traits of one at my core

So give me time

Give me patience and dexterity…

That life asks of one entrusted with an egg

If you look hard enough, 

You’ll find soft in me 

And isn’t that in the end what a cooked egg becomes?

You’ll find soft in me

The quiet promise of what I can become.