SVHV

The ducklings meandered into the vastness:
Waddling, splattering, swimming;
Like sponges they absorbed:
The good and evil,
The virtues and vice;
Learning and Unlearning,
Unlearning and learning anew
Refining themselves
In the furnace of wisdom!

Wisdom that instilled discipline
Encapsulated in the mundanities:
‘How many children waiting for you?’ taught patience
’This uniform is your sanctuary’ defined self-respect
’Towards the world beyond the yonder’ inspired ambition
‘You are precious, it all begins in you’ drove self-worth!
Amidst the Hullabaloo of 
Math, Chem, History, Civics, Bio, and Language

Language was the instrument of self-consciousness:
‘Speak English’ screamed the pink badge-
The hallmark of shame:
Holding for a moment,
Looking for the opportunity to pass on;
Wren & Martin in a tiny town
Where English was just crawling in the streets,
It was walking-talking on the ducklings
As their vehicle of self-discovery!

Self-discovery as the journey of the individual
Despite being one among the flock
That steadily traversed together from:
Cute babies to walking blabberers 
To identity-seeking adolescents,
As they transformed into Swans:
Not realizing the burden of their journey
For their boundaries were carefully carved
Their journey was painstakingly designed
And they were built on the principled monuments

Monuments into which they were
Ferried in a wheeled castle,
Carefully tendered 
By the captain and his first officer:
Muthanna and Nithyanna!
Monuments built by stalwarts:
Veiled in the name of teachers:
Ms Radha, Ms Rani, Ms Jeya, Ms Krishnammal,
Ms Meena, Ms RP Rajeswari, Ms C Rajeswari,
Ms Padma, Ms Gomathi, Ms Selvam;
Administered by Jothi Miss,
And attended by our beloved ayammas!