The following is from Jodi Wilson, a Cherokee Nation Building Bridges graduate.
Eyes are heavy, tummies grumbling.
The nights I waited for midnight are so humbling.
Stomach in knots, they can’t pay rent.
Feeling like it’s my fault, maybe what I wanted made them overspend.
Hands over my ears, eyes closed tight.
Looking like another long night of fights.
Open my eyes, “Hey! I’m an adult!”
I don’t have to live like that; I can change the result.
Relearning how to be a human.
Breaking that poverty mindset and illusion.
I’m healing my past, present, and future.
I am no longer in that trauma stupor.
This poem was submitted on behalf of Jodi by Brooklynn Colburn, Building Bridges manager for Cherokee Nation Commerce Services in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
The aha! Process Getting Ahead program engages investigators (participants) in exploring the realities of poverty in their communities and how those realities impact them. They also explore the causes of poverty, the “hidden rules” of economic class, and ways to develop resources and build stable lives. Getting Ahead graduates build relationships across class lines and often join the decision-making tables in their communities.
