I have friends in my family just like my normal friends

My big sisters teach me how to do backflips

I get sad when they don’t play with me that much

Then I get left with my brothers and they’re mean to me and don’t want to play with me

I like when my mom buys me lollipops

I liked when my dad used to take me to preschool

I didn’t like that he prayed for my mom to die,

That’s why we had to move far away.

 

He used to lock my mom in the house

But he loves me and my twin brother

I love everything about my mom

I wish my dad would be nice to my mom and not pray for her to die

I wish my mom could have fun and live all together, even with my dad

I wish we could live in our old house and have fun there together

I love my family

Every second of every day.

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This poem is published in The Light in My World, a compilation of original poetry written by young people ages 5 – 12 who stayed with their families in housing at Solid Ground’s Broadview Emergency Shelter & Transitional Housing for women and children. The young authors who contributed to The Light in My World are not identified by their real names, and some details have been changed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of them and their families. The authors retain copyrights on their individual works.