I AM

I AM…

I am Rich
I have family who loves and I love
I have given birth to the abundance of me
My joy has brought joy into this world three fold…
I am Rich

I am Rich
I have watched 44 years of love and dedication grow in my home
I have watch my parents teach me and mine the rules of love and life
I have had the pleasure of knowing sibling love and rivalry at the same time
I am Rich

I am Rich
My mother and father’s legacy will continue to flourish through my legacy
My legacy will live on through my child
My child’s legacy will grow and live on through her children and so on…
I am Rich

I am Rich
Education has been bestowed upon me
My mind continues to grow
Knowledge has driven me to strive of excellence in all I can achieve
I am Rich

I am Rich
My heart has been filled, not only with the love of family but real love
Love that many can only dream of
Love that touches the very soul and pump eminent life in my heart
I am Rich

I am – Poor
I have felt the pain of loss – my father, dear father
I have felt the agony of despair and my heart grows cold
I have witnessed the ugliness of hatred and I covered my eyes
I am Poor

I am Poor
I have felt the sting of rejection no medicine to heal
I have watched a loved one die inside at the loss of a legacy
I have stilled a beating heart without even knowing it
I am Poor

I am Poor
I have watched as my birth giver – my mother – soar with life then fall to earth
I have watched as she withered, clueless, an empty shell of her former self
I have watched as her memories fade to dust in the blink of an eye
I am Poor

I am Poor
Anger and rage have circle around me
Death and despair have wedged it way into my life
Hatred and Betrayal have invaded my very existence
I am Poor

I am Poor
Trust has been shattered that may never recover
Dishonesty has whispered in my ears and Lied through its rigid teeth
Doubt has snarled at me and laughed
I am Poor

I am…
I have watched and learned and lived and loved
I have grown and begun to wither with age
I have opened my soul and let my tears cleanse me
I touched the hand of forgiveness and forgiveness smiled at me
I have embraced my errors and learned from them
I have let doubt fly out the window of despair and nailed it shut
I have held the hand of my aging mother and felt the love of a child again
I have kissed the lips of love and have been kissed back 100 fold
I have held out my hand to save another from extinction
I have held on to hope and have learned to let go
I have righted my wrongs and am better for it
I have walked hand in hand with myself and talked for hours
I have found that love is a gift and fragile like glass
I have watched and learned and lived and loved
I am…

Me.

Written by Stephanie D. Dodge
September 15, 2016