TESTIMONIALS
POEMS
Reflections from Stanford
“You think you can define me
Like I'm a tick in a small box
Like my being is a locked door
That a single key unlocks
But let me explain something to you
I have the universe all around me
I am a untamed ocean
with constantly changing tides
I am home to endless mountains
With peaks that touch the sky
I house the wildest rivers
I feel, in the waves of sunshine
Or in the most unrelenting rains
Don't tell me that you don't know me
I am bigger than you can imagine
That "this right here is what you are"
I am the universe in motion
I am the stars in the darkest night
I am the rays in the brightest sky
I am the air all around you
I am the grass between your toes
I am everything!”
— Samantha TayloR
09/05/2020
What Truly Matters
“Bought, sold, battered, abused
This is the life of a teenage prostitute
Mentally, physically and socially shattered
Survival is the only thing that truly matters
At nightfall the real work begins
The kind of work that some may consider the unforgivable sin
The money is good, the sex could be better
Hey, a job is a job, and to me, that's all that matters
Love and compassion are separate from this
Sex doesn't always equal, eternal bliss
Again, for some this may be hard to swallow
I'm always in search of a brighter tomorrow
So forgive me father for the sin of my youth
For the choices I make however uncouth
Are the choices of today not of tomorrow
I refuse to wallow in constant sorrow
For a life of decency, and respect I yearn
If I leave,will society ever learn?
To leave this life in the past
In the warm sunshine, I wish to bask
I wish the public would eventually see
That teenage prostitution isn't all that it's cracked up to be
I would much rather choose to be me
A contributing member of society”
Note from the author:
I've chosen to write the enclosed poem so that teenage prostitutes are given a voice and to help me always remember that there are reasons for every choice that one makes. Whether or not I agree doesn't matter. Sometimes circumstances are beyond our control that certainly do not give me the right to call someone a hoe. Before I use that term again, I pledge to think before I speak. I have no right to judge or to hold a grudge on a lifestyle I don't understand. Thanks to all who educated me and helped me to see the beauty of humanity.”
— Eva Sanchez
Serious Wake-up Call for Battered Women
“Why did God decide to save a dope fiend like me?
It is incomprehensible, nor can my eyes see
Why God spared a dope fiend like me
I know he has a plan for my life, but what could it be
That God decided to save a dope fiend like me
I've searched for love, and it seemed none would come
I thought I found it in the pipe or an empty bottle of rum
I looked all over I've seen and heard the works of one
But I'll do it my way; I'll do what I've always done
I'm tired of fighting, I can't fight anymore
Some say submit and surrender, that will even the score
Me, submit and surrecnder, that I just can't see
But why did God save a dope fiend like me
My addiction is crazy, and as powerful as can be
I'm told there is one who can remove this obsession from me
I'll do anything to never get high anymore
I've repeated the same cycle, bumped my head til it was sore
I've hit my last result, I've fallen on my knees
I can't take it anymore dear God, please
God has a plan, that's his promise and decree
That's why God saved a dope fiend like me
Serious Wake-up Call for Battered Women
by Mesha Frisch
I got flowers today. It wasn't my birthday or any other special day.
We had our first argument last night,
And he said a lot of cruel things that really hurt me.
I know he is sorry and didn't mean the things he said,
Because he sent me flowers today.
I got flowers today. It wasn't our anniversary or any other special day.
Last night, he threw me into a wall and started to choke me.
It seemed like a nightmare.
I couldn't believe it was real.
I woke up this morning sore and bruised all over.
I know he must be sorry,
because he sent me flowers today.
I got flowers today, and it wasn't Mother's Day or any other special day.
Last night, he beat me up again.
And it was much worse than all the other times.
If I leave him, what will I do?
How will I take care of my kids? What about money?
I'm afraid of him and scared to leave.
But I know he must be sorry, because he sent me flowers today.
I got flowers today. Today was a very special day.
It was the day of my funeral.
Last night, he finally killed me.
He beat me to death.
If only I had gathered
Enough courage and strength to leave him,
I would not have gotten flowers today.
Gem of the Day: The real test of class is how you treat people who cannot possibly do you any good.”
— Mesha Frisch
God and the Butterfly
“A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling round with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!”