POOR IN THE ORIENT

Two pairs of pants

One pair of shoes

One dress

Two shirts

 

This was the variety in life my mother had to choose from

 

Sleeping on a barren floor in a hut in the middle of the thick

jungle

Sharing it with slithering snakes, so to creep around and not

find one

 

The outhouse in the back, waaay back....

And to go use it was a stress

Fear of running into a panther or leopard

Fear of a snakes head popping up from the hole in the seat

 

The wash bins full of rains from prior days

Showering outside while talking to your neighbor passing

by

Covered by doors, except the shoulder and head

 

Working her muscles hard in the rice fields

Sifting ....sifting... more sifting of tiny specks of rice

Pruned legs and feet

Hours of wet clothes and the sun beating on her skin

 

Poverty left her emaciated

Seventy to eighty pounds of flesh on bones

 

This is why the cupboards are full to the top with stuff

bought years back

Why clothes packed in like sardines hang untouched and

only five percent of them get worn

The basement stacked with cans and boxes of food,

enough to feed armies

The bathroom cupboards loaded with ten different kinds of

mouth wash and body soaps...Ugh!

 

Her mind is not thinking of death and in death this STUFF

will not go.....

No!

But as long as she can , she refuses to ever be poor again.

 

Reviews

[Chris]

This is so very, very real...

[Tom]

Makes you appreciate what you have and never be wasteful ! ( That's what I tell my kids too ) !

A riveting story, crafted in thrilling detail !

[Star]

Yea growing up with her has made me understand her more on being a pack rat

[zainul]

I wonder how enumerated the psychology of your mother.
The picture was painted very vividly.
I could imagine all scenes and you depicted with great adeptness.
Great tribute to a mother as well as your father.
I congratulate you for the compassionate work.

[Star]

Hi Zainul. Thank you so much. I try to strive for imagery in what I write because it draws a picture that is going to make you have those emotions.

[zainul]

I love your wonderful style.

[Star]

Hey thanks

[zainul]

You are always welcome.:)

[Tina Kline]

A very powerful and compelling poem. I was really pulled into the story.

[Star]

Sweet:) that's cool

[An owl on the moon]

There is a beauty and sadness that mingles here in this fierce fight against pain and poverty. Powerful!

[Star]

Oh really? thanks Craig

[sayed Mudasir Ali]

It has the nice backround and I believe this could be a true story.

[Star]

It is a true story...my mother grew up in Thailand and met my dad in the service and swept her away from poverty

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Rich with imagery and emotional depth...I can scarcely imagine the hardship that your mother endured. This shows the resiliency of the human spirit; it is a beautiful thing. Great story within this poem...nicely done.

[Star]

Thanks so much for the review

[Sheila Kline]

Oh my, I can only imagine how horrible it would be to live in either world - one of the past and one of the present where both are invaded with thoughts of either too much or too little! What a plight!! My mother exhibits a bit of this syndrome as she grew up without and we have to cart out bags of things she feels she just has to have...........not this bad, but I can relate and it is sad for the person and for those who live a part of it! You have taken me to renewed feelings of my mother, and that shows skill on your part!!

[Star]

Is that right? Well thanks a lot Sheila:)

[Sheila Kline]

I am so glad you mother has a better life now, but memories of the past often never seem to go away. But, that may be true for all of us in one way or another.

[Star]

Yea she is from Thailand and my dad met her as he was in the service and genuinely loved her and he was her angel who whisked her away from that life.

[Sheila Kline]

That is wonderful news!!!!

[Sami Khalil]

The plight of the poor in some of those countries in your loving , compassionate words...Thank you for penning...:)

[Star]

Thanks. Yea... my mother is from Thailand and met my dad who was in the Air Force in Vietnam and whisked her away from there.

[Sami Khalil]

Wow. Wonderful . You are welcome...:)