Written for Justice 2

Inhale exhale

Something that her son couldn’t do asleep

He is one of 300 from worldwide

Who suffered from Ondine's curse

What’s worse, There was no cure

She wanted him to breathe

But saying please, and paying fees, was never enough

Because she couldn’t pay them all

Even their “life support” didn’t give him the best

She was told “Sorry, but that's the best we can do”

Maybe it’s because she chose bronze instead of gold

Or because she decided she didn’t need it

She wished she could use the college money she never saved up for

But how was she supposed to know

That life Insurance costs $500,000

Now the money she gave away

Was taken to her son’s grave

His father was a drunk man

Hanging around drunk men

Doesn’t matter if his wife left

Doesn’t matter what his son did

He was surrounded by people of hiccups

With temptation in every doorway

Even in his mirror

He tried to clean it, thinking, a smudge won’t change who he is

Tried studying for final exams

but the stress was too much

And the drink seemed to whisper "just one"

Until 1 became 2

and 4 became more than he could count

And then the room started spinning.

Like the cycle, he was beginning to start living

payday, pay rent, save up, bills

So with nothing to do, and singing the blues

he walked down cemented sidewalks

with red, yellow, green, lights

Having no bills to pay, he asked for some change

Mumbling to himself

"Just one last sip"

When her mother kicked her out

she looked her right in her face and screamed

"You are not my son"

Because she was transgender

She liked to play with dolls

and wanted to wear dresses on Sundays

little things that stuck to her mother

but what crossed the lord's “law”

was when she said

"I am not a boy"

Her devilish self was kicked from her holy home

Now she struggles on her own

a boy begging to be seen as someone else

because she thought that she wasn't meant to be born a boy

and no one is sorry

because people decide to look away

because there is no acceptance for him

Now she says

"My religion has stomped on me"

Good thing Rahm thinks

That he should engage with the youth

Oh wait, that’s his second priority

"Christians are more than twice as likely"

"to blame a person's poverty"

because of "lack of effort"

or because you could have done better

The non-believers say

it didn't work out your way

that the circumstances weren't the best that day

that sometimes, there are things that no one sees

that religion shouldn't control someone's destiny

that it is hard to resist the temptation of ease

that some children can't breathe asleep

My poem is about poverty, and different ways that people suffer from poverty. A part of my family suffers from poverty and it is a real struggle. I tried to bring. Three different stories that are a cause of poverty. I used some perfect rhyme, consonance, and assonance. I used assonance in the first stanza, "But saying please, and paying fees, was never enough." There is a repetition of the vowel, E.

Perfect rhyme can be found in the third stanza, "Her devilish self was kicked from her holy home" and "Now she struggles on her own." Home and own rhyme. There is also a form of Anaphora in the first 3 stanzas. Near the end of each stanza, there is a quote from each of the main people, that I talk about. There is also a turn, in my poem. The last stanza, uses AABB rhyme, rather than no specific rhyme scheme. In my poem I spoke about Rahm Emanuel, who is the mayor of Chicago. He has a 48 page article of his second priorities. One of which talks about engaging with the youth.

The first that I created was very restricted, because I thought that if one stanza of my poem rhymed, than every other stanza had to rhyme. I also believed that if every stanza was 6 lines long, than every other stanza had to be 6 lines long. I used anaphora in my first poem, as well. I decided to start from scratch, by not using anaphora, not keeping a consistent amount of lines per stanzas, and not rhyming in every stanza. I decided to keep most of the ending from my last poem, because I personally believed it was a good wrap up. In the future, I am hoping to restrict myself less, and start being more free with myself. In the future, I hope to do more research about my political issue, so that my poem can be more political.