Something You Should Know
By LB
You should know that I was an orphan
Who never knew my biological parents
You should know I was left on the seat of a diner
In a town I never heard of
Bounced from different children’s shelters
Until the age of 7
You should know the only mother I ever known or will ever need
Took me into her home and raised me as her own
She always kept food in my belly
And clothes on my back
I miss her dearly
I pray to God that she bring her back
35 Comments
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
LB,
Thank you for sharing your poem. It must’ve been so hard having to deal with such a high level of uncertainty in your life. Your poem is extremely good and you do a great job capturing the readers attention and emotion. Please continue to write and expressing your emotions. -Patrick
LB,
I can see that you have been through a lot but you still have hope in your life. This poem is about you and the events in your life, so thank you for sharing them with others. Your poem is full of emotions and the message or theme behind it is beautiful. I can’t wait to see more poems from you!
LB,
Thank you for sharing this poem. Through your poem, the abundance of emotion is obvious and I can tell you have been through a lot in your life- but your refuse to give up. It must be difficult, but your poem shows readers that you will always have hope. I hope to see more poems from you as this one was very well written!
LB,
Thank you for sharing your story about your life and your mother. The poem is very powerful and showcases the depths of your emotions. The women and mother who helped you grow clearly brought such a powerful and positive influence on your life.
LB,
Thank you for sharing your poem. I love the whole idea of sharing what you think people should know about you in order to better understand you as a person. I am sorry to hear all of the things you have been through, but I am sure that you are a much stronger person because of it. Your poem is full of emotion and I can´t wait to read more from you!
LB,
As someone who was adopted I have lived everyday of my life not knowing my biological parents. I see your pain and emotion behind the words that you wrote and I want you to know that I feel that too. Your gratefulness towards the woman who took you in shines brightly. Thank you for sharing your story, while reading this I felt goosebumps rise to my skin. Never lose motivation or hope, let your story be known and I have no doubt people will listen.
Wow, your poem really touched my heart.
I am so sad to know you’re an orphan and wish it had been elsewise, but at the same time you saw the good in other people.
There is hope for all of us, including you, know you’re not alone.
Your mother who accepted you and loved you as if you were her own child proves that.
I can’t wait to read more of your powerful and captivating poems!
Hi LB,
Thank you for sharing such a sentimental and undeniably hard part of your life. You showed us readers who you truly are and that the type of childhood you have can really take a toll on you. I could feel emotion in every one of your words, and your words are truly beautiful. I can tell that this woman that served as a mother figure in your life made you who you are and helped develop your strengths. Overall, its a great piece, and I look forward to reading more of your work in the future. Best of luck in your future endeavors, and utilize your strengths to carry you forward. 🙂
-Ria
Dear LB, Thank you for telling your story. It isn’t always an easy thing to do, but you deserve to share it. Nowadays people are so quick to judge others, especially by first glance, that we tend to miss out on the potential that everyone has in them. Your passion reads strongly in this poem and I hope you keep that fire burning within you, it’s a beautiful thing.
LB,
Thank you for sharing this poem. I know it must be hard putting these experiences into words but you did a great job of putting these experiences into a powerful work. I especially like how you remain greatful in spite of the really tough experiences you faced. Please keep up the great work and continue to publish your writing, I look forward to reading more of your work.
LB,
Thank you for allowing yourself to be so vulnerable, I can’t imagine how hard all of this must be on you. I’m happy you were able to share this, because I enjoyed feeling the raw emotions within your words. I hope you write more soon.
Hi LB,
Thank you for your honesty in this beautifully written poem. In reading it, I went through every emotion, which is difficult to in only a few lines. I like the last line “I pray to God that she bring her back”, and how you give “God” the pronoun “she”. My interpretation is that you see God as a woman, or perhaps a mother, who is capable of making people feel loved. Thank you so much for sharing.
Dear LB,
Thank you for being so open with this poem, I know how hard it can be to be vulnerable. I like that in your poem, you’re not allowing people to define you, instead, you’re saying here are things that happened to me that made me into who I am. I also enjoyed reading the portion of the poem about your mother, she sounds like a strong and amazing individual. I’m excited to read more poetry from you in the future!
Gosh, this poem hurt me. It is so well written. My mom is super sick and I too sometimes wish that God would bring her back too. I hope you share a little more of your story and write more poems. Thanks for writing this one.
LB,
You have done an amazing job by sharing your story in such a great way. I know it doesn’t matter how much I try to empathize with your feelings, you are the one who had to go through this and you know better than anyone how your journey has been. It takes great courage to share one’s own life struggle. You were lucky to find a caring mother that not everyone has. I hope your beautiful moments with your mother keep you strong enough to move forward.
LB,
Your poem has a lot of emotions. Im sorry growing up must’ve been hard. Thank you for sharing your poem, it’s often not east but keep writing and stay strong.
HI LB,
I really appreciated reading your poem. I commend you for telling your story and hope that it has brought you strength. It is important to always speak your truth. I know your mother is looking over you and that she is proud of you for sharing your poetry with us. I wish you all the best.
Molly
LB,
Thank you for your poem and for sharing your story. I appreciate its simplicity and honesty, and I think it does a good job of communicating a piece of yourself to readers. In addition, I admire your strength in not giving up! Keep making art…I can’t wait to read more from you!
I felt the pain in every word that you wrote, and I thank you for being so open about your experience. I’m sure this can’t be easy to share with strangers, but there are many people who share this same history, and you may have given them the courage to open up about their past. Continue on with that transparency, for it will take you far.
Dear LB,
Thank you for sharing such formative experiences and intense emotions through your poem. Such vulnerability can help other people feel brave enough to open up about those things as well, and sharing those emotions and experiences helps you know a person in a more genuine way. Thank you for sharing these pieces of yourself through your poetry, and I hope to read more in the future.
A truly beautiful poem about love and loss. Every line is so meaningful and tells us so much about your story. I especially like how the last four lines of the poem sounds with “belly,” “back,” “dearly,” and “back.” It makes the end of the poem flow nicely. I find that often sharing your story can help others, so I am thankful that you had the courage to be so vulnerable. Hopefully, you keep sharing your story and writing poetry because I can see that you have talent and a strong voice.
LB your poem does a good job of capturing the importance of one’s formative years and the effect that family can have on a person’s outlook on life. This poem was very powerful. Donovan
Dear LB,
I am deeply sorry for your loss. Your poem conveys a sense of love and caring on a deeper level. I am impressed by your effort in writing this poem given the hardships you have faced. I appreciate your unique perspective referring to God as a her. Keep writing!
LB,
I am amazed by your story. You and your love for your mother is a true testament to how love and positivity can flourish from even the darkest of circumstances. I am so sorry for your hardships and I wish you strength and light for your future.
I love your thankfulness. Be thankful for your struggles for they have gave you strength!
Thank you for sharing this, LB! It is beautiful that out of the instability of your formative years you found hope and security in an adoptive caregiver. Sometimes, family is defined by the love and kindness given to those not related to us by blood. Although you miss your mother dearly, my hope is that this poem helps you find solace and cherish the bond that you have. Keep up the awesome work!
LB,
Thank you for allowing us to get a glimpse as to what it has been like to live an incredibly difficult life. I can’t even begin to fathom what it must have felt like knowing this information at such a young age. Just from a twelve-line poem, I can tell you are very strong individual. Always remember that the past does not have to dictate the future.
Hey,
Thank you for sharing such a personal story. This poem was written extremely well. When humans interact we always want to know as much about the other person so we can put them in a box. We are uncomfortable engaging with someone we can not identify. This poem gives the readers that comfort. “Something You Should Know.”
I am truly inspired by this story and to see you are still here and persevering gives me hope for humanity. You are strong, thank you!
You wrote this poem so very well! You opened up about your life and your struggles that you went through to the point where you are now. It was so well written that you just couldn’t stop reading! Keep up the good work! You got this!
LB,
What a beautiful ode to your mother. You have gone through so much heat ache, yet show the beauty in having someone who has had your back. The lost of those who are always there for you is difficult. You encapsulate this in your poem beautifully. Remember to always live with the love that they have shown you, that way their memory will always be there and their love still flourishes on this Earth. I hope you continue to write, you have a gift. Even in a few lines you moved my heart.
Best,
M
LB,
Thank you so much for sharing this, I bet that was difficult to share and even more difficult to go through. I got the chills while I read this poem, it is so well written. Loss is so difficult to deal with, but I admire you remembering all of the good times you had and that you are thankful for the time spent with them. Wishing you the best.
Mason
Hey LB, I really like this poem! I am so sorry you had to go through this while growing up, but thank you for being so vulnerable with us! This poem is so emotional, yet powerful. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Hi LB, my name is Emily and I am a student at a university in Detroit. I am currently taking an English class which also incorporates service and community into it which is how I found this website. First off, I would like to thank you for being so vulnerable in your poem. I can’t image what it would have been to go through that, but I am glad that you found someone caring and loving in the end. Your poem paints a picture of what your life was like and what you had to go through. It was emotional as you share your struggles and the hardships that you had to face. I can tell in your poem that you grew up to be someone strong and conquered a lot. At the end you shared some more heartbreaking news. I am so sorry for your loss. I know what it is like to lose someone that is close to me a gave me a lot and it is a difficult time. I hope that you can continue to grow and be strong for your mother. I know she believes in you greatly and that she is looking out for you still. Again thank you for sharing such a vulnerable poem.
Hi LB, my name is Emily and I attend school in Detroit. As part of the English class I am taking, we are adding a service and community component and that is how I came across this website. First off, I just want to say thank you so much for being vulnerable. I can’t even imagine what you went through, but am glad that you found someone at the end of it. It sounds like she acted as if you were her own child and provided you everything you needed. She gave you support, a home, clothes, and love which is everything you could ever need. I am so sorry that you lost such a beautiful soul like hers. I know that she is still looking out for you. I hope you still have support from someone in your life. Again, thank you for being vulnerable. Your poem was beautifully written and I am so glad that I came across it and got to read it.
LB,
Hi, I’m Edmon and I’m in a class that aims to engage with the community beyond the university and corporations. Wow, this was a great poem as you really opened up to your audience and it made me wonder about life in your shoes. I also liked the title, “Something You Should Know” it made me wonder what the poem was before I read it. Good job and Good luck in the future.