Day 21: Meaningful Sayings

My mother had lots of 
meaningful sayings
pearls of wisdom
which she can sadly 
no longer
share with me

“Your luck begins if,
not when,
you’re born 
to the right parents.”

As a child I often thought 
how life would be different
if I hadn’t been born 
to the parents who bore me

Would I have still been given
glorious opportunities 
to grow up
in comfort
to be educated
travel the world
speak my mind freely
to pursue passions? 

I could have been born
like my great grandparents
grandparents 
in Europe during a time of war
of famine
of depression
of war 
of hate

How can I really, truly 
begin to understand 
being a refugee
the horrors of war
separated from family
perpetually 
starving
scared?

I have been 
too privileged
to feel as if I could possibly
have survived
a life filled with insecurities
where one must be brave
where one must be strong
to survive
to endure


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