She Had Become Accustomed To

She Had Heard Papa Sing So Many Songs About The Heart; The Heart That Was Breaking - Was Aching - Was Dancing -was Heavy Laden - That Leaped For Joy - That Was Heavy In Sorrow - That Turned Over - That Stood Still. She Really Believed The Heart Actually Did Those Things.

This Could Be A Whole Life," She Thought. "you Work Eight Hours A Day Covering Wires To Earn Money To Buy Food And To Pay For A Place To Sleep So That You Can Keep Living To Come Back To Cover More Wires. Some People Are Born And Kept Living Just To Come To This.

It's Come At Last," She Thought, "the Time When You Can No Longer Stand Between Your Children And Heartache. When There Wasn't Enough Food In The House You Pretended That You Weren't Hungry So They Could Have More. In The Cold Of A Winter's Night You Got Up And Put Your Blanket On Their Bed So They Wouldn't Be Cold. You'd Kill Anyone Who Tried To Harm Them - I Tried My Best To Kill That Man In The Hallway. Then One Sunny Day, They Walk Out In All Innocence And They Walk Right Into The Grief That You'd Give Your Life To Spare Them From.

Dear God," She Prayed, "let Me Be Something Every Minute Of Every Hour Of My Life. Let Me Be Gay; Let Me Be Sad. Let Me Be Cold; Let Me Be Warm. Let Me Be Hungry...have Too Much To Eat. Let Me Be Ragged Or Well Dressed. Let Me Be Sincere - Be Deceitful. Let Me Be Truthful; Let Me Be A Liar. Let Me Be Honorable And Let Me Sin. Only Let Me Be Something Every Blessed Minute. And When I Sleep, Let Me Dream All The Time So That Not One Little Piece Of Living Is Ever Lost.

There Is Here, What Is Not In The Old Country. In Spite Of Hard, Unfamiliar Things, There Is Here - Hope. In The Old Country, A Man Can Be No More Than His Father, Providing He Works Hard. If His Father Was A Carpenter, He May Be A Carpenter. He Many Not Be A Teacher Or A Priest. He May Rise - But Only To His Father's State. In The Old Country, A Man Is Given To The Past. Here He Belongs To The Future. In This Land, He May Be What He Will, If He Has The Good Heart And The Way Of Working Honestly At The Right Things.