Left Behind to Move Forward

Deje todo, I left it all behind

The dry air, the livestock, the wind chimes

My family, my friends, everything I’ve ever known

All of what I consider home

 

My skin melted from the scorching heat

The van reeked of rotting meat

Half the trek, equal to a full school day

We’ve yet to reach the hardest part, to my dismay

 

As we approached the checkpoint,

From the officers we hid

No one dared make a peep,

Who knows what would happen if we did

 

Successfully passed to the other side.

After another school day, to my destination, I’ll arrive

Yet it’s not joy that hits my soul

More worry, uncertainty, and lack of control

 

All this effort, all the hardships met

Next steps were to make a profit

But this would prove more difficult than expected

As I was here alone, tackling the unprecedented

 

Years spent, working myself to the bone

Most of which, I had tackled alone

Some nights without shelter, those were the hardest

Where my entire world was at its darkest

Cold nights spent by the dumpster

to shield me from the brisk air

Every day took all the courage I could muster

Every day, filled with despair

 

But this was the life in which I was positioned

All the sacrifice necessary, for the life I envisioned

To provide for myself, my parents, and my future kin

Every step along the way, harnessing strength from within

 

I wanted to give up, many times over

It’s a miracle I was even able to remain sober

But more out of necessity, not desire

For I had no currency for such an empire

 

I barely made ends meet

Working, studying, barely staying on my feet

Most nights, I slept less hours than three

Feeling emotions on the opposite of glee

 

All the battles, all the hassles

Have brought up the family name, akin to Castles

Those before me, benefiting from my suffering

Those after, living up to the offering

 

All of it worth it, no future back home

But I’d wish it on no one, the pain mine alone

Now we rejoice, much more comfortable than before

With financial worry, being no more

Food now plentiful, clothing now soft

Our current worries, previous us would scoff

Education mundane, now almost dull

All the sacrifices made for a life that’s full