Because I Think Food Should Be Free. Poem by Alicia Mogollón

I've felt the cold ground beneath me
slept under the stars in unfamiliar places
-slept in places where for some reason
the law says we are not allowed sleep
no laying down on the earth
you must have a house somewhere or
you are a vagrant.
I've climbed on a freight train
and walked in the heat of the sun..
I've eaten food out of dumpsters
and gone to free food lines
but I cannot pretend that I truly
know the feeling of homelessness.
Because I did most of this out of choice
or I did it all out of choice.
Because i didn't figure out how to do something else
or refused to accept the belief
that I have to have a forty hour a week job.
Because I wanted to test myself, to feel like
I could.
Because I detest being soft and unable to adapt
-to survive.
Because I can't stand the idea that perfectly good
food goes to waste in a dumpster
Because I think that food should be free.
Because I want to feel at home wherever I am.
I want to be capable of anything.
I have felt hunger and hated it
but I think perhaps it has made me less greedy
and more flexible.
My little glimpse into homeless life
has made me more aware of how much I have wasted.
Of how much I have judged.
And while I don't want to be a homeless wanderer,
I want to be flexible - I want not to judge
I want to be able to appreciate people
without caring if they have dirt on their face
or wear the same clothes day after day.
I want to be able to just look in any person's eyes
and see that they are not so different than me.

(5 March,2009)