Waiting to breathe

"Enigma"

Word that rings in my ears often

In circles of people and standing in the center

I am but an egg unhatched 

They believe they know the others

Shells soft or hard 

In a variety of colors

They understand that which seems substantial

Yet, for some evasive reason I remain unknown

My shell is brittle but metallic

Often colorless and opaque

They want to crack me in the pavement

To see if I'm dead or alive

As the others hatch

They don't understand why I remain still

Silent

The other chicks shriek in a mess of feathers

Shrill at the top of their lungs

The adults come to sooth them

Yet...

Here I am

Still

Silent

Can you blame me?

I just can't speak like they can

The words don't know their way out

Behind this metallic brittle shell that I don't dare to shatter

I don't want to scream

I don't want to lose myself

Just not yet