Reflections

The Dream of a Poor Girl

Poor

A word that is often thrown around

yet its meaning hardly understood,

At least here,

In a prestigious university,

Where White kids get to enjoy the luxury of obtaining an education

The very same way as their parents did, and the ones before them

To go to parties on the beach, drink, fail a quiz, and sleep in and enjoy their weekends

Simply because they can afford to do so,

Whereas someone like me,

With the complexion of beach sand,

Whose family had to learn the language of these lands,

Had to learn early on

what it meant to sacrifice more than just their weekends,

To eat frijoles, arroz con pollo

over and over again,

To leave school only to go to work

and to work again,

To be tired but find energy

Not in a cup of coffee

No... that's too expensive

But in the idea that I would be

Bettering the conditions of my family

To no longer be stuffed

Like sardines in a studio apartment

To find energy in the dream

Of an ounce of privacy,

The sense of security in knowing

That I will no longer see eviction letters

I needn't find energy in drugs,

Like the kids from school,

But in the idea that my future children

Would have a room to call their own

With hot water to shower,

That I wouldn't need to hear

Their heartbreaking questions

"Mama, are we going to be homeless?"

"Mama, what is there to eat?"

I find energy in that dream,

(Just as my ancestors found energy in their dream,

To plant their flowers

In the garden of this country).