Thursday, April 25, 2013

The English Teacher

She simply gave him a book...

The pages filled his mind with a world that he could have never imagined living in
For he knew he could never afford the pleasures of learning about the world through travel.
So,
He read piles and piles of books, 
hundreds and hundreds of pages 
to escape the nothingness of his neighborhood.
These pages pulled him from the edge of the cliff of Failure 
and 
painted a picture of a future he had no idea would belong to him.
These books walked him through the hallways of Progress 
and 
into classrooms of Motivation.
They sailed him through the sea of Hardship 
and 
Frustration and brought him to the island of Opportunity.
Anything and everything was possible. 
His family’s poverty did not hold him back.
His parents’ lack of a high school education did not hold him back.
Others’ minuscule measurements of his intelligence did not hold him back.
Not graduating high school did not hold him back.
These pages encouraged him.
These books revived him.
But it was She who saved his life. 


*Aesop once said,
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
                                                                      In this case, it saved a life. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

To Whom It May Concern

Those crooked streets stole my innocence but
Sugar coated my loss with compliments from
Those who robbed me of my ambitions.

They acted like they listened
With their eyes glistenin'...
False hopes and
Eager hands...
Only to stay until I gave in to Temptation.

I SOLD OUT
and
Handed out
Pieces of me
As if I were candy
Falling out of the sky,

So

When my world formed puddles
Above the rims of my bottom lids and
Overflowed onto my
Mountains of cheeks,
You'd seek out
The Positive and
Slowly wipe away my Hurt with
Tissues of Wisdom that
Reincarnated my soul and

The role you played in my world
Told this little girl that
Life is...
My best teacher.