{"id":3194,"date":"2025-04-07T11:48:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/?p=3194"},"modified":"2025-04-07T11:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:50:07","slug":"to-the-one-who-held-my-hand-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/to-the-one-who-held-my-hand-first\/","title":{"rendered":"To the One Who Held My Hand First."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Before I knew how to hold a pencil,<br>you held my hand.<br>Before I could write my name,<br>you whispered it with love, again and again.<br>Before I could count from one to ten,<br>you counted on me.<br>You believed I could,<br>even when I didn\u2019t know what \u201cI can\u201d meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You were more than just a teacher.<br>You were the first voice of encouragement,<br>the first smile I looked for in the morning,<br>the first hug that made the classroom feel like home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I remember your songs,<br>your gentle way of saying, \u201cTry again.\u201d<br>I remember how you celebrated<br>my crooked drawings like they were masterpieces,<br>how you clapped for my tiny victories<br>like I had just conquered the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now, years have passed.<br>I\u2019ve grown taller.<br>I\u2019ve learned more.<br>But the lessons you taught,<br>those remain the deepest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You didn\u2019t just teach ABCs.<br>You taught kindness.<br>You didn\u2019t just teach 123s.<br>You taught patience.<br>You planted seeds,<br>not just in books, but in hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so today,<br>I want to say thank you.<br>For believing in the little version of me,<br>for being my first guide,<br>my first cheerleader,<br>my first friend outside home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of you,<br>I learned to love learning.<br>And that\u2026<br>has made all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if I could go back,<br>just for a moment,<br>to that tiny classroom with crayons and storybooks,<br>I\u2019d run to you with the same little feet you once taught to stand,<br>just to say,<br>you didn\u2019t just shape a student\u2026<br>you helped shape a life.<br>And for that,<br>you will always have a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of you, I learned that love doesn\u2019t always come wrapped in gifts,<br>sometimes, it comes in gentle corrections, soft smiles, and endless patience.<br>You may have forgotten the many children you\u2019ve taught,<br>but we never forget the one who first saw greatness in our small beginnings.<br>You were the start of my journey,<br>and every step I take today still echoes with your early guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/when-youre-just-a-bridge-they-cross-on-their-way-to-joy\/\">When You\u2019re Just a Bridge They Cross on Their Way to Joy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1BHnRzuRMo\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1BHnRzuRMo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"HEALING POEM | Walking shadow poetry by Precious Owoko | poet| poetess | spoken word\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3FBOFPRRCOI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before I knew how to hold a pencil,you held my hand.Before I could write my name,you whispered it with love, again and again.Before I could count from one to ten,you counted on me.You believed I could,even when I didn\u2019t know what \u201cI can\u201d meant. You were more than just a teacher.You were the first voice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,97,25,98],"tags":[35,49,34,50,61,55,22,48],"class_list":["post-3194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poem","category-poetry","category-solitude","category-storytime","tag-poems","tag-poetess","tag-poetry","tag-spokenword","tag-spokenwords","tag-stories","tag-walkingshadowpoetry","tag-walkingshadowpoetrykenya"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/6960c1d2c2fa124d79e52fbac1e1a921.jpg?fit=236%2C354&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3279,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/shes-not-here-but-her-love-remains-emotional-spoken-word\/","url_meta":{"origin":3194,"position":0},"title":"She\u2019s Not Here, But Her Love Remains &#8211; Emotional Spoken Word","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"May 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I wish I could call you today,Tell you how much I miss your voice.Mother\u2019s Day feels quiet now,But loving you was never a choice. It came so natural just like breathing.You were the first heart I ever knew.And though you\u2019ve gone beyond my sight,Everything still leads back to you. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;death&quot;","block_context":{"text":"death","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/death\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"happy mothers day card beside pen macaroons flowers and box near coffee cup with saucer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-photo-2072160.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-photo-2072160.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-photo-2072160.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-photo-2072160.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/pexels-photo-2072160.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3267,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/i-love-you-so-much\/","url_meta":{"origin":3194,"position":1},"title":"I Love you so much.","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"April 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I love you...More than words could ever fully explain.At first, I didn\u2019t believe I could love again,because life, over time, had taught me how to build walls,not bridges. You see, I had been broken not once,but too many times to still count.And honestly, I had lost hope,lost pieces of myself\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0004-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0004-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0004-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0004-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0004-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3151,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/i-still-miss-you-sister-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3194,"position":2},"title":"They Said Time Heals, But This Is What Really Helped by walking shadow poetry.","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"March 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I wake up, but something feels off,Like a song without lyrics, a road lost in fog.The world still spins, the sun still shines,Yet deep in my heart, there's a crack in time. You were more than blood, more than a name,A sister, a friend, nothing feels the same.I reach for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_2017-copy-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_2017-copy-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_2017-copy-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_2017-copy-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_2017-copy-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3155,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/shes-no-longer-here-but-her-love-still-fills-my-heart-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3194,"position":3},"title":"She\u2019s No Longer Here, But Her Love Still Fills My Heart by Walking Shadow poetry","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"March 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I used to wake up with tears in my eyes,Wishing, just for a moment, I could turn back time.Losing you felt like losing a piece of myself,Like a book missing its final chapter. At first, the pain was unbearable.Every morning felt heavier than the last.I would hear a joke and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/252fa3bb5c6bcc16764146bf2270bea7.jpg?fit=236%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3481,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/it-was-extremely-hard-being-a-1st-born-daughter\/","url_meta":{"origin":3194,"position":4},"title":"IT WAS EXTREMELY HARD BEING A 1ST BORN DAUGHTER.","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"December 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I grew up where the wind carried old stories,at my grandpa\u2019s place,a home held together by love,even on the days when a meal was a prayerand breakfast was a blessing we hoped for,not something we expected. Childhood taught me lackbefore it taught me laughter.It taught me how to fold hunger\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MG_0342-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MG_0342-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MG_0342-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MG_0342-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2652,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/blinded-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3194,"position":5},"title":"Blinded by walking shadow poetry","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"September 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I gave you everything,every piece of my heart,thinking that maybe this time,it would be different.I thought we were building something real,something that could last,but I was wrongso wrong. You smiled,you laughed,you made me feel like I was special,but underneath it all,you never wanted morethan just a good time,just someone to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;POETRY&quot;","block_context":{"text":"POETRY","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"woman in pink dress sitting on brown wooden chair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-7268549.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-7268549.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-7268549.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/pexels-photo-7268549.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3198,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3194\/revisions\/3198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}