SURVIVOR
I HAVE SEEN LIFE’S OTHER SIDE
My strength, my choice;
I’m a person still,
I’ve suffered life’s fist,
the shame, the rain,
I’ve known incessant pain.
Sorrow and anguish scarred;
once my bunkmates,
as I lost self to poverty,
fighting for all I had,
a battle I chose not.
Dad died sometime back;
medications too expensive,
mom’s waist pain grew chronic,
befitting her farming hours,
still, hunger knew our names.
At twelve, I worked multiple jobs;
more hours than twelve,
hoping to feed my own,
prostitution glistened at sixteen,
but mom’s sermons prevailed.
Thus, from gutters to bins;
crumbs to leftovers I went.
Yet we knew hunger still;
though luck smiled some days,
life’s crooked sense of mercy.
I’ve seen life’s other side;
still, I walk strong and tall,
for now, I have, now I rest,
my halls flood with more,
riches beyond my dreams.
No silver spoon graced my birth;
hard work, sacrifice, and belief,
morning, afternoon, evening,
season in and season out,
‘til fortune looked my way.
Give no reason to my strength;
I am because I believe,
who, what, where and when I am,
hoping and enduring in labor,
doing something about me.
Years and time have taught me that life is for those who dare to try. The silly ones that go the extra mile, that see through the hardships that seem to clad reality — that see the promise that lies on the other end, the reward for all the suffering. True life may happen, but nature is essentially fair. Karma never forgets. So, it is not yet time to give up and/or devolve, keep working, keep trying. The reward is worth the sacrifice.
If you loved what you read, feel free to bang the clap button so that others can find this. Read more and/or follow me here.
