Michelle Obama---Becoming Light Poem by Natasa To

She rose from the South Side's steady streets,

Where brick and winter winds were teachers,

Where hope was stitched in working hands

And laughter echoed down close kitchens.



She walked through halls of sharpened minds,

Princeton University

And carved her name in granite will;

Through Harvard Law School halls she moved

With purpose bright and spirit still.



Not born to crowns or marble rooms,

But to the music of becoming—

A daughter of the city's pulse,

A drumbeat quiet, always humming.



Then history turned its patient page

And set her steps in wider view:

The White House lawns, the waiting world,

A nation watching what she'd do.



She planted gardens in the spring,

Green promises in careful rows—

Taught children strength is grown from roots,

From mindful minds and food that grows.



She spoke of girls who dare to dream,

Of books that open locked-up skies;

Of shoulders squared against the doubt,

Of rising after each surprise.



Grace was not a borrowed gown,

Nor power something worn for show;

It lived within her steady gaze,

In every "yes" that answered "no."



She danced when others stood too still,

She laughed where silence once had been;

She showed the world that poise can shine

With warmth as fierce as discipline.



And when the chapter gently closed,

She did not dim, nor fade away—

She carried light beyond the gates

Into a broader, brighter day.



For leadership is more than place,

More than title, term, or fame;

It is the courage to be whole

Before the spotlight knows your name.



O First Lady, strong and wise,

Your story arcs where futures start—

A testament that change begins

In one brave, well-educated heart.