I am Poverty

I am…

The pandemic in society that has shaped families since the beginning of time.

Where once it has been established…it seems to span generations

Seeping through the course of the veins within the blueprint of a household

 like a Cancer

Where families hope and pray about when and where they will get their next meal

Meager rations that have to be divvied up amongst 5,

but only enough was made for 2,

guaranteeing that you will go to bed hungry.

Where mom is always the last to eat because she needs to make sure

that her precious pearls eat before feeding herself

More sadder days than Saturdays

Where being selfish doesn’t come into play,

because there is barely anything for self

Meanwhile, mothers try to make sure that their child’s pants are sewn,

because that is his only pair

And fathers have to crazy glue his child’s sneakers together,

because he must wear them until his last wear

A true testament of started from the bottom,

but the bottom has no boundaries

I am…

the quintessential anecdote that keeps families together ,

as struggle has a weird way of uniting the souls of the needy…and I have seen it all

I’ve seen it all…

I've seen what I can do to others

I have seen my efforts singlehandedly cause those to engage in activities

 that they normally wouldn’t do all to make an honest buck

And honestly, those that chose to make a dishonest buck

already has allowed me to course through their veins

… so my job there is done

I have seen the figurative boats of those trying to make it across the river of despair

sink before they reach the island success

While seeing those that have “made it”,

become castaways because they do not not realize what they have,

which causes them to throw it all away….

although I enjoy it, it is sad that they don’t realize that

they were already blessed

I…am poverty

an urgent unmet need for more goods,

in order to establish a sense of belonging, or self-worth.

That over time creates a mindset,

and certain beliefs about self and the world

that limits perceptions, choices, motivations, and behaviors

in ways that tend to perpetuate the condition.

And the scary thing about me is that I can affect you in many ways

Allowing you to still believe you are under impoverished conditions…

Weakening your inner fibers

And I will not stop working until you…or the cycle…is

broken…whichever comes first

 and 99% of the time it is the former that occurs

One may ask…how does one break me…

how to break this vicious cycle of poverty?

 It starts with realizing that I am not real but rather a mindset,

that keeps your mind set on what should be and not on what is

You must keep me at such a distance so that I am only a figment of your imagination

Maintaining your foundation,

while doing whatever you want once you abandon the belief that you cant

And it all stems from your inner circle…

yourself breeds like bodies…

and if your mindset is one that is impoverished…

then that’s what you will attract

Again I am a mind state

I get into your mind to alter its state and space and make your body ache

I continue to make you believe that you will never reach the pinnacle of what it

means to be “rich”

But “rich”…

is not defined by the material items that you possess

Not a car, house, jewel or commas in your bank account

can define the richness of your soul,

because it is ironic that as the rise of green occurs in your pocket,

so does the thoughts of the other side

So although your options may seem bleak

And your heart and mind continue to remain weak

Realize that even those that are rich…

are still impoverished in the mind because

money is not a moral compass

Your life’s situation isn’t your lifestyle

And although it is your current state in life,

understand that it is not a way of life…unless you allow it to become one

The generational cycle of my work will diminish

once the thoughts of material items to satiate your hunger to show the world that you have made it has subsided..

Because then…and only then…

will I fade to black…

and you…

can live life in harmonious melody

and you…

will truly and finally understand what it means to

become rich…