Will to Survive

Will to Survive

she hid in the sanctity
of the corner that held
the least amount of dirt
in her disheartening life

mother never went sober
her hand blood clenched
with dirty syringes 
shot into her dying veins

daddy never was seen
after his trip to the doctor
 he was picking medicine up
but lost his way in a pile of wreckage

there is no love in this story
not many would care to look
at this scared, beaten young women
but she chose to look in the mirror

and tell herself it can be better
dirty syringes, rotting dishes
life could not get any worse
but life could succeed

one day at a time
she cried her tears
fought her little wars
and made it to class relentlessly

each class brought a new struggle
kids never could understand
the face of poverty
and the will to survive

at night she lay next to trash
book open, her mom doped up
words flew onto the paper
a reckoning of her life at hand

four years passed
through this tragedy of life
she walked proudly
diploma in hand

no parents watching in view
her mom had recently given way
to her addictive demons
and lay to rest one last time

 distinguished with a new life
she begins a new road

 time is now what she makes it
in this fight of freedom
from tragic beginnings
to happy endings….

(Kelly)