To the ones who recently left the shelter for home

They didn’t prepare you for this

This didn’t turn out how you planned

You waited and waited

9 weeks

16 months

4 years

Finally she came

Now you are home

But

There is no work for mom

There is no school for you

It’s cold and coal is running low

Sometimes your uncle comes to the ger

Fists swinging

Drunk

But there’s nowhere to go

Everywhere is closed

You wouldn’t trade this chance to live with your family

But you’re cold

and hungry

and sometimes scared

When you feel alone

You are not forgotten

This won’t last forever

Hold on just a little longer

To the ones who had to leave the shelter and can’t find work

They didn’t prepare you for this

This didn’t turn out how you had planned

What do you do when you’re too old and too young

The world shut down your already limited options

Sharing a small room with friends

Combining meager resources

For something to eat and somewhere to sleep

Wondering where to go from here

When you feel alone

You are not forgotten

This won’t last forever

Hold on just a little longer

To the new mom

They didn’t prepare you for this

This didn’t turn out how you had planned

You didn’t have a chance to learn to raise yourself

Before learning to raise another

You want to raise her loved in ways that you were not

But without support, your love alone won’t be able to stop the cycle

You are overwhelmed

But you are not forgotten

This won’t last forever

Hold on just a little longer

To the ones still at the shelter

You weren’t prepared for this

This didn’t turn out how you had planned

She dropped you off and said she’d be back soon

That was

9 weeks

16 months

4 years ago

Sometimes the teachers care

Sometimes they don’t

Sometimes you have friends

Sometimes you don’t

Here the strongest survive

But you don’t always feel strong

Sometimes you don’t want to survive

You are not alone

When you feel forgotten

This won’t last forever

Hold on just a little longer

To the ones no longer with us

We weren’t prepared for this

This didn’t turn out how we had planned

Your departure was too sudden

We understand why you did it

You felt alone

(Though you weren’t forgotten)

Who is to say I wouldn’t have made the same choice

Had I been you

But had I been you

I wonder,

Would you have told me these things instead?

You are not alone

You are not forgotten

This won’t last forever

Wait for the darkness to break