I Come From
by: GD
I come from a struggle
Welfare mother on drugs
And a dog eat dog world
Where they say only the strong survive
And you watch the murder of friends
Through your innocent eyes
I come from where the devil is strong
And God is weak
And the only time you pray
Is for something to eat
I come from a society of its own
But where I’m going is a different spiritual zone
Where I can sit and write at Sandy Spring Lake
And not have to worry who is creeping behind the gate
I’m going to where God is pushed first
And the devil is so shallow
And temptation is so hollow
And my new friends so positive I’m not afraid to follow
Where I’m going is someplace positive
You might want to go
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Simply beautiful!!
I love the invitation at the end–“where you might want to go.” It reminds me of a Robert Frost poem, in which the narrator invites the reader (or whoever) with great tenderness. After the struggles you write about coming from, your last line is so tender and, as a result, powerful. Here’s the Frost poem. The setting is very different, but I think spirit of the invitation is similar.
The Pasture
I’m going out to clean the pasture spring;
I’ll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):
I shan’t be gone long. — You come too.
I’m going out to fetch the little calf
That’s standing by the mother. It’s so young,
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I shan’t be gone long. — You come too.
What an inspirational poem. I love the abrupt change starting with the line “But where I’m going…” because the tone of the poem immediately shifts, and you see that this is actually a poem of hope, a poem written by someone who has matured and knows he’s on the right track. It’s almost as though you grow as a person and writer over the course of the poem. I’d like to hear more about this new place you’re going.