A Dream Gone Wrong Poem by LeiLa LighT

When I was a kid it was my dream
To leave my village, see the world,

meet the famous, visit places far away...
One fine day my dream came true,

yeah, yeah it was incredible,
There I was - flying in a plane,

My life’s wish come true! I couldn’t believe it!
And as I looked around the plane I saw

People of many different races.
As we flew higher and higher

My heart began to beat
But soon my prayers were answered

And, thank God, we landed safely.
The airport seemed like a city itself,

Everyone in a hurry, walking up and down,
All minding their own business.

So much rushing about seemed strange to me.
I asked a guy “What city is that? ”

—Got no reply.
I asked a woman the same

—Got no reply,
Then I saw my answer written in big letters

— New York City.
[[Though I can’t talk perfect English

I can read it a little.]]
I imagined myself a rich man showering

My family with lots of money.
I remembered my miserable life as a farm labourer

And grieved for those back home
Still ploughing that dry earth

And I was proud to be in a foreign land.
Next thing I find I’ve reached the city

Wow, wow, wowwwww! !
My eyes can’t believe it: I really can see skyscrapers,

No words can describe it.
New York is so vast and New Yorkers are so fast,

But then I thought “Where shall I go? ”
Here there’s no-one I know,

Worse still I don’t speak the language too well,
I’m in big trouble that I really can’t handle.

This was the first time I’d left home
And I’m confronted by worries

That can eat me up skin and bone! Twelve long years it’s been
Since I came to this foreign country,

Twelve years homeless, jobless, and nothing do I own
With only a dog I can call a friend.

I have begged on the streets with my dog, Wanda
And there’s my family waiting back home,

I’m ashamed to say, for all those dollars
I promised but never did send.

It hurts me to think how I left my home.
What made me do it? I must have been mad.

With all this frustration and worry I’m dumb.
But now I’m so tired.

It’s been another tough day, and I just want to sleep.