It is a quality of life, a daily struggle.  

Living paycheck to paycheck, hoping it will be enough to get by. 

Their stomach filled with emptiness, the desire for food is strong. 

So hungry they would eat anything to fill the aspiration of consuming something. 

As they become more ravenous they become hopeless. They go to bed with the wish that they will be able to afford tomorrow’s food even if it is just a small ration.

Their children, born into the necessitous life, clueless of the anguish ahead of them. Moving so much and not understanding why. They feel unaware of all that is happing around them.  Education not reachable nor affordable. Even when education becomes at hand the fear of their differences haunting them as they walk the halls of the school. They wish their clothes were like the other students.

Clothes without holes in their shirts and big stains. 

Pants that were not too tight or to lose. 

Shoes that didn’t fall apart.  

Clothes that could smell good, ones they would be able to wash.

Clothes that were just more comfortable and more appealing. That is all the children wanted. 

Their anxiousness and hungry stomachs make it hard to focus. when the school day ends the strain is left in their brain. Children left with worry stuck in their heads. 

Their health confined not just physically but mentally too. The pressure can be felt miles away. Day by day, the stress never seems to go away.  Not a single dollar to be seen in their pockets, medical bills become too much. Though if they did have the money, no way to the doctor. 

Their car broken down, a rustic look that is not unseen. No other way to get around. 

The busses too far away. 

Trains no longer running.

Taxis are exorbitant. 

Bikes left with flat tires and torn paint. 

They would be left to walk, in the cold weather, 10 miles in the chilling winds. 

The parents feeling lost. Fighting every day just to find a job. A job that is close by, one that they can keep longer than a day. The fight is an endless fight. Every day they wonder if it is the one that they will find a job.

Wanting to be able to pay for housing, at least a small house with a bed. A bed that would be so wonderful. As they had been sleeping on the ground outside with just a blanket, one thin blanket. Time after time they had tried to get a house but even then the water, gas, and electricity would be turned off. 

No showers could be taken. 

No handwashing after using the toilet that you couldn’t even flush.

No washing the couple dishes they did have.

No cooking food on the stovetop. 

No heat to stay warm.

No lights to be turned off and on. 

No outlets to be working. 

No electricity at all, no water at all, no gas at all. 

They just wanted a house where everything stayed on. 

They just wanted to be able to pay for simple things like education and clothes for their children. Clothes with no holes or stains. 

They just wanted to be able to pay for food. Food that they could eat in more than 3 bites. Food that would fill their stomachs and make them full. Full a feeling they haven’t felt in years. 

They wanted to be able to pay for transportation and medical bills. 

They just wanted to be able to pay for the things that could keep them healthy and keep them happy. Just the simple things. The simple things it’s all they keep fighting for day-to-day.  

Poverty, it is a quality of life, a daily struggle.