Two Aspirations | Teen Ink

Two Aspirations

May 21, 2009
By Gabriela Melgar BRONZE, Daly City, California
Gabriela Melgar BRONZE, Daly City, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Two Worlds
Two hopes
Bind me
Together
Yet unwind me
Separately
Stretching me
Two ways
Two dreams,
Inspired by
Contrasting
Experiences

My younger days
In which my seed of life
Reached to be a stem
That catches air,
Gasping with the
Overflow of living:
I was in El Salvador,
A country of simple living,
Hot days, long naps
Seafood at the warm water beach
With family all around
Yet also,
Saddening poverty.
Young kids begging for change
With home-made circus acts
Swallowing fire
While painfully drowning
The aches within
For what might be,
Their next meal.
Lost children,
Stolen hope
Roam the streets
Sniffing shoe glue
At the corner,
My tender eyes
Still understood
The desperation
San Salvador’s streets
Lived and breathed

Coming to
Los Estados Unidos
Was like a dream.
The streets almost seemed
Paved in gold
Where dreams get made
Everyday
Where desperation is quietly
Stuffed under the red carpets
Where everyone seems to know
Ignorance is bliss
Caution:
Capitalism can cause
A strong craving
For what’s not real

These two worlds colliding
Cause a stir in me
I want the simple life
Where I’m just grateful to eat
Where all I’m around is what
Can be loved
Yet growing up Americana
This yearning for the superficial
Has captured my attention

These two aspirations
Can’t coexist
Can’t blend, Can’t mix
Two experiences
That bind me
Unwind me
Which will it be?


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