Group 2 – Third Prize
I am a stranger but for that one smile
By Caelan Beard
I am a stranger
In this place
Where my family has run to
They whisper behind us
But I hear them
Why talk, when no one can understand
The language that I speak?
Why learn, when I cannot understand
The language they teach in?
Why try, when they do not know me
When I am alone?
Why not quit?
I almost do
But for that one smile
That is given by the teacher
Who is trying to help
And sometimes succeeds
The one smile
That keeps me in this place
Trying as I can
For that one smile