The Race
I have been homeless and hungry
abused and abandoned
beaten bloody
but I never once asked anyone for help
not a single dime or a second of their time
I didn’t want to be a bother
as I was led to believe myself to be by my mother
whenever I needed anything as children often do
No one ever offered it either
It’s probable many had been burned in the past
by those who had benefited from their generosity
their largesse repaid by betrayal
That seems to be the way of the world
Nice guys (and girls) finish last
as I did the year I volunteered
to join my junior high track team
though I wasn't very good at running
I chose to challenge myself signing up for the mile
That’s who I was back then when I believed
such a mindset might get me somewhere
yet here I am today a grown woman
still struggling to survive and going nowhere
I continue to wait for it all to work out as some assured me
It was easy enough for them to say
since in their experience everything did
It usually does when you have money
a fact I took note of even as a kid
I was without fail the final competitor to cross the line
though I knew it was over halfway through
There would be no trophy or ribbon waiting for me
I’d be going home empty handed once again
I could have saved myself the exhaustion quitting then
but I always finish what I begin
Copyright © Angela Douglas | Year Posted 2022
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