Her Journey

A scared young woman

The mother of one

Deserted by love

And left all alone

A baby to raise

No means of support

With nowhere to live

And no open door

Then a helping hand

Kindly extended

And one big problem

Thankfully ended

Still are decisions

That have to be made

Go to work or school

And she's so afraid

To just take a job

With minimum wage

Or go back to school

With kids her own age

But she bears a load

That they haven't felt

Yes, she's battle scarred

But now she's got help

There's someone to watch

Her baby each day

While she goes to school

But no time for play

The baby is sick

A lot of the time

The doctor is great

And he's very kind

But bills must be paid

Eventually

And there's no money

But nothing is free

Child support's a joke

Even when it's paid

It's never enough

But her plans are laid

Just a bit longer

And she'll graduate

Then she'll pay the bills

Though they will be late

She struggles and scrimps

And somehow gets through

Her grades weren't top notch

But they had to do

Now she goes to work

And pays all the bills

Starting a new life

With a new, strong will

And things get better

For the two of them

Every spare moment

Gladly spent with him

He grows strong and kind

And the years fly by

Til he's a young man

And she wants to cry

He makes her so proud

In all that he does

There's hardly a thought

For the life that was

Now he's in college

And she's still at work

And neither one hears

From his dad, the jerk

But their life's been great

Their bond is complete

Life's come full circle

And it tastes so sweet

There are no regrets

For what might have been

Because what mattered

To her, in the end

Was only her son

And he turned out fine

Her pride and her joy

Her mark upon time

Terri Lyn Stanfield

1/10/2002