A Life Worth Living Poem by shanika lowe

a small child sits upon her stoop
gazing upon the goings on of the block
thinking about what she wants to be
when she grows up
you see all she sees around her are
dealers, addicts, and young mothers
so what do you tell a child who sees no other
option in life
come on lets get realistic
the system has already branded her
to be just another statistic
a young mother with a drug dealing
baby daddy who stole her innocence
by buying a piece of her from her addict
of a mother
she only knows the hustle
of the street and the constant beat
of her newborns heart
and the cycle continues
so what do you tell a child who sees
nothing but this in her life
you tell her to be strong
and look past all of this
look forward to a bright future
cause she is just that
the future
the future of this world
its time to break the cycle
give or kids something to live for
give them something more than just life
give them the knowledge of living
living a life worth dying for
cause if we don't
what will they have to live for