Pristine

Trees of gold and orange

Breezes of below freezing

Crowds of students arrived

For the day of school

.

Amongst the people

One woman strolled onto campus

The only one at the school

Out of a sea of male peers

.

Balanced elegance and intelligence

Detail-oriented perceiver

Was not afraid of others

And dressed in shades of blues

.

Her talent is honed as an eagle claw

The patience of a Siberian tiger

Beauty of a secretary bird

She had the personality of a carnivore

But was unfortunately treated as prey

In her field she was the brain and brawn

.

In the busy halls

Some of her peers lurked

Few in admiration

Most out of jealousy

Hissing like cobras

With green faces plastered on

.

The group of men wondered

How did the herbivore end up here?

They schemed in the shadows

Planning to play a game of pining

.

The first was a mute swan

He was exceedingly handsome

A man described as "Prince Charming"

The blonde approached the woman

He insisted he sat beside her

A façade of pure white feathers

With a tendency to strike a romance

Synonym after synonym for beautiful

The woman grew tired

She had thought about her studies

So she pestered the man about books

He pestered back about a date

With a final nerve

She declined and went on her way

.

Next was the owl

A book-smart man

Who planned to outsmart the woman

During class he interrupted her

Insisted he was in the right

Purposely attempted to make her the fool

Only to be met with criticism

The woman fought back

Deflected lies with her logic

Usually would be proven correct

.

The third was the lion

The so called king of students

Athletic and book smart

A deadly combination

Yet was no match for the woman

Childish taunts

Met with complete silence

Questions of worth

Met with more silence

The lion would no longer roar

As the tigress continued to growl

.

As the years went by

Animals targeted the woman

But she would show no mercy

Awkward public proposals

Class bantering

Continued chatter

Never bothered the lady

.

As the years passed

The animals cowered in fear

They would take different paths

More women had joined

Students of education

Turned graduates of honor

.

When the last summer arrived

The woman proudly marched away

Eyes of moissanite

PhD in one hand

Bag of knowledge in the other