As a boy of nine,
I longed to shine.

So I asked my mother if I could go abroad,
She said yes – provided I studied hard.

I would be the first in class to do so,
And the thought delighted me even more so.

I studied every day, without fail,
Though the effort often left me pale.

When my mother said my visa was granted,
I felt on top of the world – my joy unbounded.

You should have seen me when I landed in Moscow,
I stepped off the aircraft, feeling like a hero.

Confidence and swagger, personified,
And in feeling so, perhaps justified.

After fifteen days, I returned from afar,
Welcomed like a hero, feeling like a star.

That journey is one I’ll always remember,
Etched in my mind – forever and ever.