The Box

We come of age
And open the box carefully
Expecting it to explode in our face
We grow dreadfully
And then we grow in grace
We understand it's a race
And even though you help someone
Along the way
You're the only one
Who can finish your race
So you keep going
Sometimes you're crawling
But by all means
You keep going
And then life happens to us
And we hand back the box.

Akpan