Open Door: A Poem
Upon entering a lusty and glistening childhood/When toys would escort their children to school
Lack separated me from peers I would/Befriend if only my parents pockets were full
What possessions sat in what forgotten recess/In houses large enough to lose oneself in
Not a thought in the head of naughty leeches/Of peasants and queens snoozing in their lesson
The story of poverty and what blessings were missed/A trailer that bumped against my heels
While they showed the haul what currency’s purchased/I proudly provided proverbs of missed meals
In our bags there was a great weight/We each had paralleled empty space
What I pulled free were badges great /Displayed against their pricey lace
Like the difference twixt winter and spring/Environments altered in which I survived
Eyes fixed on the humbling sting/Of a youth spent unsatisfied
Not unlike mine, stories abounded/Of what was and was not inside the home
Adults mourning the unknown astounded/Myself out of feeling alone
That was a special thing, having naught/Yet the proof was there, it was the norm
The chip upon my shoulder, the reason I fought/Was the reason the masses were forlorn
What discovery, so great was I shaken/Observe the slanted spine, the suffering in the gait
No matter the shoes, the steps taken/We were spawned to the same fate
Whatever comes, the argument for pity/Should be made and made well
Entire groups that number a city/Or many more cling to their hell
I was not like them, such vision/As though a heart-red beam
Gathered within to create an incision/Illuminating the universe undone by a seam
I had much!/And in this moment all that I seek!
Or enough as such.../To feel gratitude with nothing is not weak.
To witness what I have seen/To witness what I have been
To live as in a dream/To live in such a skin
No apologies issue from within/I cannot be blamed for loving life
All things fade, a living lesson/All things are met with strife
I will continue on/Until I can go no more
In no way is this wrong/To see in all an open door