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Third Side of the Coin

It was the darkest night I had been
through since I became one with the 
streets
And no matter what corner I 
squeezed into
every nerve in me got chilled
Maybe this was what they meant by 
the
apocalypse
Or maybe God had decided to cut 
short
my life string...
No other explanation made sense 
at this
point
So I curled up into a human ball 
waiting to
see how it ends.
I was eight years old
She was the only one who looked at 
me
twice
And with kindness engraved on every
freckle of her face
She took her shawl and wrapped it
around me
Took my hand and asked me to 
follow
her.
She was the purest soul I had known
Gave me food clothes and a place 
to call
home
But above all she gave me love
And that cannot be compared to 
anything
else.
On my sixteenth birthday she called 
me
into her room
Said I was like a daughter to her 
and
she wouldn't want anything bad to 
happen
to me
And then she hugged me
And a tear flowed down her cheek
'Its time you became part of the 
true life
that I live.'
I was afraid to the last bone in me
But then it would kill me to 
disappoint she
that had made me into what I was
She promised that it wouldn't hurt
And if any one tried to cause me 
harm
I should scream her name and she 
would
come right up.
First time it was painful, I actually 
bled,
That night I couldn't sleep as the
memories fled
Back and forth across my head
The eyes of the ugly old man
The smell that came from his 
sweat
The weight that he placed on me
The sounds that he made...
Aargh it made my gut upset.
'Now you are a woman my love'
She said as she wiped my sore body 
with
the hot water
' Now you are like me. Strong and
independent
Able to make your own money'
Handing me my first salary.
'If I was a minister
I would take you to the best schools
And build a big house and you would 
have
your own room
If I was a business lady
I would wait till you were eighteen
Then immediately write down my will
Where you would get everything
But my love
This is who I am
This is all I have
And I do not mean you any harm
But we sure do need to survive
I will be with you all the way
I will show you all you need to know
And hopefully there will come a day 
that
you will be able to get away from all 
of
this
I love you dear
I just wish I could have given you 
more.'
She was my mother and father
She was my closest friend
It was beacause of her that I could 
even
wear a new dress
She had sacrificed everything so 
that I
lived
So I was not going to live her now 
that she
needed me...
I am proud to be me
I do not have any apologies
It was either this or being six feet 
deep
Atleast this way I am open to
opportunities
So next time before you point your 
finger at
me
Say bad things about me
Show your kids who a street girl is
And the best meaning of bad 
company
Why don't you first ask yourself 
why you
weren't the one whp picked me from 
the
streets.

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