BEYOND THE STRUGGLE

Life was such a struggle
Years of pain and sorrow
You never knew what love was
Or if you’d eat tomorrow
Growing up as white trash
Braving life from day to day
Always hungry cold and tired
For relief you’d daily pray
Wearing boys’ hand-me-downs
Only bathing once a week
Always being made fun of
It was nothing less than bleak
A life once filled with violence
A life entrenched in fear
It invades to swallow up
All you now hold dear
The memories so poignant
The pain does still exist
At times you cannot shake it
Griefs too strong to resist
You have come full circle
Now your life is good
You rose above the ramble
By doing what you could
But memories still linger
They are hard to let go
Day by day you struggle
To rise above the throe

Ann Christine Tabaka was born and lives in Delaware. She is a published poet, an artist, a chemist, and a personal trainer. She loves gardening, cooking, and the ocean. Chris lives with her husband and two cats. Her poems have been published in numerous national and international poetry journals, reviews, and anthologies. Chris has been selected as the resident Haiku poet for Stanzaic Stylings.