UnProse

What does poverty cost

I wrote this poem when I was 14 years old, for my mom and a nonprofit project she was a part of and wanted to promote. I actually went with her to this meeting of women and shared the poem there. I was so nervous being the only child at this table of established women, there to help my mom ask them for money to fund the project. I can't quite recall if they granted my mother the money she asked for or not. 

Some background about the project (it is personal after all). 

In my home country of Cameroon, the village my mother comes from does not have a reliable supply for drinking water. The village does not have the funds to build wells and taps and pumps and the like. My mom and her aunt (my great aunt) started a project called Mforya H2O (pronounced faw-yah). (They may have later revamped the name to Mforya Water Project because I have heard it referred to as such but I'm not sure). The aim of said project is to raise money for the building of wells in that village.  

Without further ado, here is my short.

What does poverty cost?

It costs lively-hoods.

It costs kids in woods

Hunting for their families.

It cost little girls

Missing worlds

Of education

To fetch water.

It costs mothers

Starving to help her children

And fathers letting go of pride

To feed those inside

His home.

It costs older brothers

Doing dangerous things

To catch a few shillings

From a rich man willing.

It costs older sisters

Giving up their bodies

And dignities

For a little feed.

It costs the little ones

To feel guilty

Because they're so unable

To help.

It costs by standers

A little pity

And maybe empathy

When they hear a cry

For help.

What does poverty cost?

It costs a chance at life.