My beautiful Abigial wrote this for school...and she did such an amazing job of inviting us into the simple realties of her two "worlds" that I had to share. Please excuse me while I cry for the rest of the day. (But really, I am so proud of her!)
by: Abigail Hepner
Bread Choices
I walked down the aisle,
in the biggest store
I had ever seen.
My mother told me to get bread
but how to find such a small thing in such a big store.
I walked,
then asked,
then walked some more.
I turned onto the aisle
pointed out by the lady in blue,
only to be struck dumb at mountains of bread.
Whole-wheat. Rye. Almond.
Sliced. Whole. Thin. Thick.
Sweet. Sour. Rolled. Flat.
Too many options in such a big store.
Mother came and picked a yellow bag
I was crying,
too many choices.
That was my first experience in America’s big and better world.
A Different World
Back in Serbia,
walking to the store
because mother needed bread.
I walked in and said hello to my friend.
We chatted about her son,
he went to the same school as me,
and chatted about my mom
and chatted about the family
and chatted about my trip to the New World
and she handed me the only bread option there was.
I was short 20 dinar
but “next time” she said
as she slipped a lollipop into the bag.
A Newer Different World
We move to another city
and I am older now.
I will miss the city where everyone smiles
and waves
and knows all our names.
I walk to the new store
by our new house
I smile at the new lady
We chat about how I moved,
and where I am from.
In a bigger city I have two options of bread.
I am 20 dinar short
but “next time” she said
as I made a new friend.
This is a new world but still the same world.
Leaving My Home
I am even older now
and have to go back to America soon
to go to college.
I will miss the country of warm smiles
and little chats with all the customers in a little store
and the trustworthy folks that know a little girl
will come back with 20 dinar.
Choices
Picking a new life is hard,
harder than picking from hundreds of bread.
What will I do?
Where will I live?
But, I have learned that choices take time.
First chose between wheat or rye,
then decide sliced or whole,
then thick or thin,
sweet or sour,
rolled or flat.
And in the end the choice is not too hard.
Sometimes it takes time to learn
if you like sweet or sour better.
But in the end,
bread is still bread
and life is still life.