March 26th

I decided to try one of CA Conrads (Soma)tic poetry exercises, just for fun. The one I chose to do required me to slip a penny under my tongue, drink orange juice, and sit outside quietly, at some point I also had to place the penny on my head. After carefully following the steps I was to write about poverty from the perspective of someone who has been Loved in this world. I chose to write my poem from the perspective a child, below is an complete and unedited version of the poem I decided to do:

At the age of 4 my parents found out that I had an enlarged heart and that I could die if I couldn't find a donor. My parents were eager to find a way to save me, finding out how much the surgery would cost had them both devastated. You see my parents were only 14 and 15 when my mother had me. Because of me both my parents had to drop out of high school to support me. Neither my mothers nor fathers parents agreed with their decision to not abort the pregnancy. We lived in a 1 1/2 bedroom apartment above a restaurant most of my childhood, to make ends meet my dad worked odd handyman jobs while my mother worked as a waitress and a part time house keeper. The hospital had offered to do my surgery as a Pro Bono but my parents were too proud, they felt as if it was a handout they didn't need. It took them all of 2 years to raise enough money to pay for my surgery, after the money was raised it took another 5 months before a donor was found.

 My parents did their best to explain the surgery to me, all I got out of it was that they'd bought me a new heart. The 6 year old I was at the time hadn't experienced enough life to really comprehend the depth of their words. All I knew was that this new heart would make me feel better enough to go outside to and play with other children. I also knew that heart weren't something that could be purchased from grocery stores. Just knowing how hard my mommy and daddy had to work to be able to buy me the heart made me a very humble child. I never complained about not getting the latest toys or having to miss all the field trips that required a parent to attend (because mine were too busy working). The humbleness I acquired at that very young age and my new heart is what I carried with me throughout my life.