Wednesday, June 15, 2011

I'll Tell You a Secret (And Bitch a Little)

It sounds awful but
I don't believe some people
when they tell me their life is hard.
It might seem that way,
but some people don't know what hard is.

It's called compassion. I know.
I've heard a thing or two about it,
and I get it, but in real life,
when someone tells me their life is hard,
sometimes I'm forced to hold back a bit of laughter.
Because not being able to buy a new pair of shoes
every single time you want to
doesn't mean you're poor, ma'am.
It means you're greedy.

When you can't afford heat in the middle of a Michigan winter,
or don't have running water to bathe in,
or your grocery money is
spent on your stepfather's crack addiction,
then you can say your life is hard.
You can say you're poor.
Until then, don't bother asking me for some compassion.

Because I can be a real you-know-what to people
who make poverty into a joke.

1 comment:

  1. Leslie, you couldn't be more right about this.

    For me, it's when people claim they're SO depressed, or their anxiety is SO terrible, or anything like that.
    And all I can think is "You get up in the morning. You go to school. You live your life with your friends. Now, try not being able to do ANY of that because you just CAN'T."

    People truly piss me off.
    And especially when they think that "$100 for cleaning the house once a week is too little" really? Just.. REALLY?! ugh!

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