What Did I Do To Deserve All This? Poem by Maya Reid

I overslept
I missed the bus
I was late to school
I failed a test
I forgot my history report
I have too much homework
My mom’s making me baby-sit
My library books are overdue
I’m fighting with my best friend
My boyfriend dumped me
My locker jammed
I missed the bus again
I have to walk home
It starts to rain
“I hate you! ” I scream at the world
“What did I do to deserve all this! ”

I’m walking
Through the rain
I’m scowling
Listening to Eminem on my Ipod
Digging through my Baby Phat purse
To find my ringing cell phone
And then I see a man
Dressed in tattered clothes
Sitting on the sidewalk
Getting very wet
Looking very cold and hungry
I forget about by phone
And give him an apple from my lunchbox
And a few dollars from my purse
A small twist of fate and I could be that man
“Thank you, ” I whisper to the world
“What did I do to deserve all this? ”