He Said

Daisy Fuentes

He said.

#because I love you

Wake up! he said

Get out of bed! he said

Go to school! he said

Brings back report card and shows him the grade of a B.

Are you trying your best? he said

You can do better! he said

Do your homework! he said

Clean your room! he said

Make yourself something to eat! he said

Get ready for work! he said

It's getting late! he said

Go to sleep! he said

Another day begins, and the cycle starts once again.

I don't struggle to get up

I get out of bed and get ready

I get on the bus and go to school

I try my very best on all of my assignments

I do my homework, all of the time

I clean around the house and my room

I make myself and my siblings something to eat

I go to work and come home past bedtime

I go to bed and call him

…

What do you want? he said

It's late! he said

I ask in a whisper,

“Why do you boss me around?”

“Why are you so strict?”

“Why can't I go out and have fun?”

“Why do I always have to do everything?”

Daisy, I am hard on you only to get the better out of you

You are my oldest daughter and you set the example

You are smart and can achieve anything you want

You can become anything you want to be

I tell you to do things so that you understand responsibility

I tell you to cook and clean because I try to maintain the financial debt that we suffer

Friends come and go, once you get older

I tell you to stay  and go to school because no one in our family has yet to make it to college

If I were in your position I would go back to school and get a better job

Take a look at me, we are a low middle-class family

That is in debt and struggle financially

I only ask for you to do things so that you don't end up in my position

At a job that is hard work and doesn't pay well.

In a 2 bedroom home, with a family of 6

I don't want you to ask others for money nor loans.

I don't want to see you suffer

I want you to do better than what I am,

Because I believe in you

Because you are my daughter

Because you mean everything to me

Because you can do anything you want

Most importantly...

I only tell you these things because I care about you

And

#because I love you